I watched my Towie pals become superstars while plastic surgery ruined my life

People of any age can have BDD, but it’s most common in teenagers and young adults, and affects both men and women.Meanwhile, he’s seen many of his co-stars go on to bigger and better things, including Gemma, who’s now a millionaire after appearances on Dancing On Ice, I’m A Celebrity and Celebrity Big Brother.

Charlie King has spoken exclusively to The Sun
Charlie King has spoken exclusively to The SunCredit: instagram/charlie king
He joined the cast of TOWIE as Gemma Collins' boyfriend
He joined the cast of TOWIE as Gemma Collins’ boyfriendCredit: Getty – Contributor
Charlie said his nose job ruined his life
Charlie said his nose job ruined his lifeCredit: X/@charlieking85
He was part of some iconic arguments with Gemma on TOWIE
He was part of some iconic arguments with Gemma on TOWIECredit: ITV

“I’ve watched them all go on all the other shows, a lot of them anyway, and you can’t help but question, I wonder why it hasn’t quite happened for me, because I’d love to dance. “This is the problem with me, because I’ve had my struggles over the years, and I lost my confidence massively,” he says. But Charlie King, 39, has confessed he has struggled with his mental health and body image ever since being in the spotlight.He tells us: “I think you can get very caught up in your image, in this day and age, with what you think you need to be, and obviously the social media world that we live in, and my background with reality TV and having a bit of exposure and being in in the spotlight once upon a time, you do get very consumed with how you look.”

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And he added how when the nose job went wrong, he “went to the depths of despair”.Go to a lot of effort to conceal flawsWorry a lot about a specific area of your bodyOr pick at your skin to make it “smooth”

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Their most famous was one during which Gemma compared Charlie – who had just come out as bisexual – and their gay pal Bobby to singer Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish.

I thought I’d be next Towie superstar but plastic surgery ruined my life – I ended up penniless, living with mum & pinning hopes on Kerry Katona’s nose surgeon
He wonders why he's not as famous as Gemma
He wonders why he’s not as famous as GemmaCredit: ITV
He was struggling with body dysmorphia
He was struggling with body dysmorphiaCredit: Planet Photos

He tells us: “He put a camera up my nose, and he was like, ‘You have got some serious issues here that will need fixing.’”“Nowadays, I just try and embrace the fact that I am still in pretty good nick. I love to train. It’s very good for my mental health, which is why I created my plan.“But getting that next gig has actually not been an easy one for me. Charlie has now taken steps to reverse the effects of his nose job, ahead of his 40th birthday next August.Charlie joined the cast of TOWIE as Gemma’s boyfriend in 2012, but they split a few months later, when he found out Gemma had sent racy messages to co-star Ricky Rayment.

What is body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)?

Since leaving TOWIE, Charlie has been diagnosed with body dysmorphia, which is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance which might be unnoticeable to others.I got in a very, very dark place with how I saw myself, and that’s why I resorted to plastic surgery, something that I’m now having to deal with, even today.You might have body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) if you:“The show was a phenomenon. It gave us all the platform that we have today, and I will always be really thankful for that, but I look back a little bit at the lost Charlie that I was and I cringe. He finishes: “Since speaking about body dysmorphia a couple of years ago, I really just put the work in on trying to find that self-love and and understanding how my brain works, and making sure that I don’t trigger myself and put myself under unnecessary pressure. “I had to go and live with my mum because I couldn’t earn money and I was depressed.””I saw a plastic surgeon who agreed ‘we could fix that’ and he gave me validation.”Look at yourself in mirrors a lot or avoid mirrors completelyCharlie left the show in 2013 and went on to pursue a career in personal training, coming out as gay on This Morning a year later.

BDD can seriously affect your daily life, including your work, social life and relationships, and can also lead to depression, self-harm and even thoughts of suicide.Charlie went on to have a nose job in 2021, which went horribly wrong.He’s revealed he’s had a consultation with the surgeon who fixed Kerry Katona’s nose, after she was left with three holes in it due to cocaine abuse.They went on to have a very on-off friendship, and had some blazing rows.Charlie reveals he cringes when he looks back on his time on TOWIE, but that doesn’t stop him from reminiscing about the show when he bumps into the rest of the cast.“If you look back now, that was quite a thing to say on a show like that. I didn’t really appreciate that was my reality, but that was really putting myself out there on the line with authenticity and vulnerability. 

‘Nose job ruined my life’

He got in a very dark place and moved in with his mum
He got in a very dark place and moved in with his mumCredit: channel 4

HE was responsible for some of the most iconic arguments on The Only Way Is Essex, alongside his ex Gemma Collins and pal Bobby Norris.Spend a lot of time comparing your looks with other people’sIn fact, in an exclusive interview with The Sun, the personal trainer has revealed he got himself into such a dark place that he turned to plastic surgery – and has been left with a botched nose job that still needs fixing.“My friend I was with said, ‘Watching you and Bobby was just like watching old TOWIE, it was hilarious,’ and it then made me really nostalgic. 

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in there appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others.Charlie King

And Charlie wonders why he never managed to make it in the TV world like them.Despite this, Charlie is focusing on trying to keep a positive mindset, and has created Plan360, a detailed, gym-based workout plan spread across six weeks, based on his own workout regime. “I saw Bobby Norris the other day,” he says. “We went to an event, and I hadn’t seen him in years. “It’s a really sad place to be when you really dislike yourself that much, and I don’t want to live my life like that. So I’m taking the steps to sort of try and keep a good level on things.”“I had a really good platform on TOWIE, and I was really well liked, even though I was a little bit cringey at times, and people couldn’t understand what I was saying, when I said I didn’t really believe in labels and my sexuality was a real struggle for me.“It was so nice to see him, and we just got sucked into that hole of talking about TOWIE and our old times together and catching up. 

Kerry Katona’s surgeon

Charlie is planning on getting his botched nose fixed
Charlie is planning on getting his botched nose fixedCredit: Instagram/@charlieking85
He's trying to keep a more positive mindset
He’s trying to keep a more positive mindsetCredit: Instagram/@charlieking85

“During lockdown I became obsessed with my nose,” he told MPs on the committee.In 2022, he appeared in front of the  Health and Social Care Committee as part of its inquiry into the impact of body image on mental and physical health.“My mental health has been a work in progress for a good few years,” he says.He continues: “I got in a very, very dark place with how I saw myself, and that’s why I resorted to plastic surgery, something that I’m now having to deal with, even today.”“I can’t always watch. There’s always a lot of memes out there with me and Gemma, me and Bobby, and sometimes I watch them, and, literally, my toes curl and I grit my teeth, but equally, you’ve got to embrace that’s who I was then, and that was part of the journey. And it was iconic.”

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He told them there was no assessment by the surgeon on his mental health, or a need for him to disclose that he suffered from BDD.“I’d love to do Dancing On Ice, I’d love to do more presenting, or have an opportunity to show another side to me, and I don’t quite know why it hasn’t clicked yet.”

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