Gemma Collins has admitted she thought she was pregnant and that her “waters had broken” after battling incontinence while jumping on a trampoline.
The former TOWIE star, 43, shared her battles with the common ailment during an interview on Friday’s This Morning.
Gemma admitted she “burst into tears” and feared she would “die” after going to the toilet and “seeing water” following an incontinence leak, adding that her pelvic floor exercises have been “crucial” in her recovery.
Although urinary incontinence usually affects women after childbirth, it can be caused by other pressures, such as weight gain and constipation.
Gemma told hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary that she first realized she was incontinent while visiting a trampoline park with her nephew Haydn and stepson Tristan, whose father is her fiancé Rami Hawash.
Gemma Collins has admitted she thought she was pregnant and her waters had broken after becoming incontinent while jumping on a trampoline.
She said: ‘I start jumping. Suddenly the floodgates open. I’m in the air and I think, am I dying?’
‘I don’t want to ruin the children’s day. I’m soaked and this is just shocking. So I went to the bathroom and it was water. And then I thought, “I’m going to die. I need an operation.” Something has happened to me.”
“I’m jumping up and down, thinking, ‘Am I pregnant and my water is breaking?’ I’m so embarrassed. I haven’t had any kids yet.”
‘So, I was beside myself. I remember coming home. My fiancé wanted to go out to dinner that night. I was feeling so depressed. I went into the bathroom. I started crying. I thought, my life is over. It was so bad.’
“So obviously I did my research and 1 in 55% of women in the UK are experiencing this. All shapes, all sizes, all ages. Opener for me too. It’s affecting a lot of women’s confidence.
“And just like me, if I go on vacation, I want to do what kids do. I want to ride jet skis and, you know, be that fun person that I am.
“But living with that fear that people have every day really affected my confidence.”
Despite fearing she would need surgery to treat the problem, Gemma confirmed she has significantly reduced her incontinence leaks with regular pelvic floor exercises.
The TOWIE star admitted she “burst into tears” and feared she would “die” after going to the toilet and “seeing water” following an incontinence leak.
She said: ‘I start jumping. Suddenly the floodgates open. I’m in the air and I think, am I dying?
While urinary incontinence usually affects women after childbirth, it can be caused by other stresses, such as weight gain and constipation.
Despite fearing she would need surgery to treat the problem, Gemma told This Morning on Friday that she has significantly reduced her incontinence with regular pelvic floor exercises.
She said: “I was in Benidorm two days ago. I burst out laughing. “It came out a little, but nothing to do with what normally happens to me.”
‘I have reversed almost 95% of my incontinence by working on my pelvic floor.
“I was in Benidorm two days ago. I burst out laughing. I laughed a little, but it was nothing like what normally happens to me.”
Urinary incontinence is common, affecting around seven million women in the UK, although accurate statistics are difficult to obtain because many women are hesitant to talk about their problem.
It can occur at any time, although it becomes more common with age.
“What Gemma experiences is something called stress incontinence, caused by a weakening of the pelvic floor under the bladder, bowel and uterus, causing urine to leak,” Myra Robson, a health physiotherapist, previously told MailOnline. pelvic surgery at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. in 2023.
This often happens as a result of childbirth. The weight of carrying a baby weakens the pelvic floor, the hammock-like band of muscle that runs from the pelvic bone at the front to the tailbone at the back and helps keep the entrance to the bladder firmly closed. When it’s under pressure, for example during a coughing fit, urine can leak out.
Although it is a common problem for mothers, it can also affect those like Gemma who have not had children.
Chronic constipation, severe coughing, significant weight gain over a long period and lifting heavy weights at the gym can also trigger it, explains Myra Robson.
All of these factors cause pressure on the abdomen, which in turn puts pressure on the bladder and, “unless the pelvic floor provides the necessary support,” can lead to leakage, adds Gill Davey, continence nurse at Bladder Health UK.
“Gemma’s experience is very common,” she says. “The problem can get worse with age and especially after menopause, when the body no longer naturally produces the oestrogen that helps strengthen the pelvic floor, which surrounds the urethra (the tube leading from the bladder) and has an opening and closing mechanism known as a sphincter.
‘When the fatness of the pelvic floor is weakened by lack of estrogen, it (the sphincter) does not always close efficiently.’
The cause in Gemma’s case is unclear.
In 2015, when she was 34, she underwent a much-publicized non-surgical procedure to rejuvenate her labia – ‘a designer vagina’ – but was assured that, as a cosmetic treatment, it had no effect on her pelvic floor.
How to protect your pelvic floor
Pelvic floor exercises involve squeezing and lifting your pelvic floor – you should feel as if you’re about to pass gas in a social situation and are tensing the muscles around your anus to avoid embarrassment, says pelvic health physiotherapist Myra Robson.
‘Or imagine stopping mid-pee as if you were doing a urinalysis.’
There are two types of pelvic floor exercises, she explains.
‘First, a slow one, holding the position for about ten seconds, relaxing between each one and repeating ten times.
‘The fast exercise consists of squeezing and releasing at a rate of once per second, and repeating it ten times. All adult women should exercise their pelvic floor three times a day for the rest of their lives.’
However, if for some reason you can’t feel your muscles when doing these exercises or you experience any pain or discomfort, she recommends seeing a pelvic health physiotherapist through a referral from your GP.
Or download the Squeezy app, designed by physiotherapists and available for £2.99 on iPhone and Android.
And try to protect your pelvic floor. Continence specialist nurse Gill Davey is keen to emphasize the importance of good urination habits to reduce urinary strain.
“Make sure you empty your bladder completely,” he says. ‘Drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep things running smoothly.
“Also, don’t strain if you want to empty your bowels because that could damage those areas and loosen your pelvic floor.”