Gemma Collins is unrecognisable in throwback swimsuit photos as she urges fans to be 'body confident and free'
13 August 2019, 10:43 | Updated: 13 August 2019, 10:45
Gemma Collins has been praised by fans for sharing a throwback swimsuit snap and opening up about her body confidence.
Gemma Collins has stunned her fans by sharing a series of unrecognisable throwback snaps on her Instagram.
In the photos, the now-38-year-old can be seen posing on a yacht as a teenager, while she recalled feeling body confident when she was younger.
Former TOWIE star Gemma revealed in the caption that she was just a "happy teenager" back then and didn’t have to deal with any social media "panic" of today.
She said: “Spending the evening looking at old pics. I never grew up body conscious it wasn’t a thing when I was younger I was just young free and me.
“Yeah I look good but in an innocent way. There was no panic…. this pic was NOT taken to fit in with a wall to make it Instagram worthy.”
She then went on to say that social media is “way too exposed” for young people, as she continued: “It’s just so nice to look back on this picture and not have had any of that pressure growing up ✌🏻
“I was just a happy teenager with no body hang ups or pressure.... I think it’s so important for our younger generation to be body confident and free ✌🏻”
Read More: Gemma Collins' extreme weight loss powered by £250 SkinnyJab injections
Adding that “nothing is left to the imagination” on Instagram, she finished with a message for her younger followers: “Be YOU and don’t worry about what you see on insta be young be happy and free 💗”
And fans have been quick to praise the star, as one wrote: “This really needed to be said by someone with a platform like yours! Well done 👏💯”
“Good for u GC ! 🙌🏻 I would love to see u do more of this,” wrote another.
Read More: Gemma Collins reveals one stone weight gain after 'weeks of overindulging' on holiday
A third said: “100% agree don’t know if I would have coped being a teenager today!,” while a fourth added: “Preach sista! Totally agree, well said GC ❤️”
This comes after Gemma admitted to putting on weight recently after “over indulging”.
When appearing on GMB, host Kate Garraway quizzed the star about the "miracle flab jabs" powering her recent weight loss.
She said: "I've put a bit back on because I've been on holiday for weeks and weeks and weeks and I've totally been overindulging.
"But these things do work, before I went away I was taking it every day and I did lose two stone.
"It's fantastic, but like everything, don't expect a miracle cure, you cannot inject a jab and then be eating burgers and chips and pizzas. You have to apply yourself."
