Tulisa's agonising health battle that transformed her appearance before lip filler and face tattoos

As Tulisa Contostavlos makes her eagerly-awaited TV return on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, the Mirror takes a look at the painful health ordeal she's had to contend with, which has resulted in changes to her physical appearance

Shortly before arriving Down Under for her stint in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Tulisa Contostavlos opened up about an agonising health battle that completely transformed her appearance.

The N-Dubz rapper was once one of the most famous faces on British television, sitting behind the judges' table on The X Factor during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. She then launched her impressive solo career, with her debut single, Young, soaring to the very top of the UK charts.

Although Tulisa has continued to enjoy success in the field of music, with N-Dubz releasing their fourth studio album, Timeless, in the summer of 2023, she has kept a relatively low profile in recent years. Now she's back on our screens with a bang, wielding her signature Female Boss arm gesture as she prepares for the, no doubt grisly, trials ahead.

Fans were delighted when she joined this year's star-studded I'm A Celeb lineup, where she'll be sharing camp supplies with the likes of Coleen Rooney, GK Barry, Jane Moore and McFly singer Danny Jones, but sadly there has already been some unpleasantness online.

Although many have been cheering the 36-year-old on as she keeps her eyes fixed on that jungle crown, there have been those who've taken aim at her appearance, noting that she looks different than she did as a star on the rise in her twenties.

Hitting back at the trolls, TV presenter Rylan Clark, who is pals with Tulisa, tweeted: "Also, before people start going for appearance, Tulisa has been through a lot health-wise the last few years, so let’s not make s*** jokes about her on Twitter, yeah x."

Shortly before her jungle adventure began, Tulisa sat down with Olivia Attwood for an episode of her So Wrong It’s Right podcast, where she spoke openly about her struggles with Bell's Palsy, a condition that left her with swelling, and difficulties moving her face.

Camden-born Tulisa told Olivia: “When I was about 24, I had my first Bell's Palsy attack. So I sat at home, and I had a massive burst of inflammation, and it went down, but my whole face dropped – eye, everything. I couldn't move it; my face remained like that for seven months; I didn't go out; I just hid in the house."

Gesturing to her face, Tulisa explained, “As I was coming to the end of the seven months, my face was still not right… I would go and get fillers to try and balance out the symmetry. So I’d be like right, if you put some in that cheek to match the swelling on that cheek and then if you put some here to lift this up so my lip isn’t down there. You can imagine the vicious cycle."

To her great relief, Tulisa then went a full two years without a Bell's Palsy attack, and she began to notice 'low-level swelling' in the same cheek, comparing the frightening sensation to 'ants crawling' in her face. She recalled: “'I would have like tingling sensations like little ants crawling in my face. I started seeing doctors all around the UK – 'Something's wrong with me, what's wrong with my face' – it was so scary. This went all the way up until this year it was horrific.

"I constantly felt like my cheek was on fire. I'd have good days and bad days and on some days, I'd take steroids, which would bring it down. When I was doing that N-Dubz run it was at its worst, so you might see an interview, I look normal. And then you see another interview, it's like, what the hell is going on with my face?"

Tulisa continued: “It was scary, and then what happened was because I had this low-level swelling. I then dissolved all the filler, and I would match the inflammation by putting filler in the other side. So you have this side swollen, and this side is filler to match the swelling."

According to the NHS, Bell's palsy is a condition which results in a patient experiencing temporary weakness or lack of movement that tends to affect just one side of the face. Steroid treatment can help, and most people get better within six months.

Tulisa has since had the filler removed, and now claims to just have filler in her lips. Ahead of her I'm A Celeb appearance, she's also reportedly had her lips tattooed. A source told The Sun: 'Tulisa was determined to look and feel her best before going into the jungle. She's been doing Tibetan Rites at home and also sessions with a personal trainer in the gym including boxing. Tulisa has also had her lip liner tattooed on as she knows she will be going makeup-free for a good few weeks."

In a statement made before heading to Australia, Tulisa told followers: "If me being my authentic self connects with people in a mass way, then it must mean I'm doing something right in life. But I am not going to go looking for it. This isn't a career move for me either. I will always go back to N-Dubz, and this is a one-off experience."

The 2024 series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! continues this evening (Tuesday, November 19) on ITV at 9pm.

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