GK Barry is already predicted to be the winner of this year’s I’m A Celebrity series having spent just one day in the jungle as she has wowed fans with her antics.
The podcaster, 25, burst onto screens in typically effusive style as she made her jungle debut last night, sending viewers into hysterics as she plunged her hand into a box of cockroaches.
TikTok star turned podcaster and TV panelist, Grace has reaped the successes of her infectious humour and social media prowess, with reports of the star having now secured her own show just days before entering the jungle.
And things appear to be going pretty well in her personal life too – as the influencer recently revealed she is dating England football star Ella Rutherford, 24, after several months of teasing their relationship online.
For months, fans had speculated over hints of the couple’s romance they had teased online, with mysterious proclamations of love on social media.
Grace – real name – though GK, who’s real name is Grace Eleanor Keeling – initially tried to keep her love life under wraps despite posting regularly to her 3.6 million followers on TikTok, 61,000 subscribers on YouTube and impressive 895,000 fans on Instagram.
She first shot to fame on the app during the first Covid-19 lockdown when she started making TikToks about her daily life while studying film at Nottingham Trent University.
Before entering the jungle, GK admitted the thing she would miss most outside the jungle would be her girlfriend.
‘When you are missing home and all you want is your comfort people, then that will be hard if they are not there,’ she confessed.
But it’s not the only part of her life reaping successes – as the influencer recently revealed she is dating England football star Ella Rutherford, 24, (pictured left) after several months teasing their relationship online
For months, fans had speculated over hints of the romance left by both, with unnamed proclamations of love on social media and proud ‘I love my girlfriend’ shirts
‘But my girlfriend is also very excited for me and thinks I will do really well.’
‘I have got her a cardboard cut out of me so it’s not weird when I am away!’ she added.
As Grace prepared to dive into the gruesome jungle, Ella shared a sweet Instagram post of the two cuddling up together. She captioned the picture ‘My little jungle babe❤️ LFG x’
As the first episode debuted last night, the footballer, who plays for Ipswich Town, took to Instagram to share a snapshot of her tuning into the show. She captioned the post: ‘She’s making us all so proud.’
Though Grace initially kept their romance a secret, referring to Ella as ‘eyelashes’ on her podcast, Saving Grace, it wasn’t long before the TikTok born TV star revealed the identity of her partner.
Speaking to former Love Island star Anna Vakili on TikTok, she admitted falling for Ella after seeing her profile on the social media platform.
Grace said: ‘I saw her Instagram and I thought ‘hello!” adding that they then followed each other – and the rest is history.
On her Loose Women appearance in August, Grace said she and the Ipswich Town player had moved in together after their first date.
She said: ‘First date, she moves in, never left, love that for us!’ She then added that they’d even spoken about having kids by date three.
In May, Grace revealed that she was in a new relationship but that she would keep it a secret, only calling her by the codename ‘eyelashes’.
Speaking on her Saving Grace podcast, Grace said: ‘I’m not gonna say who it is, but I’m gonna give her a nickname called eyelashes. So whenever I refer to eyelashes, I am talking about the love of my life.
As Grace prepared to dive into the gruesome jungle, Ella shared a sweet Instagram post of the two cuddling up together. She captioned the picture ‘My little jungle babe❤️ LFG x’
Grace pictured wearing a football shirt with Rutherford on the back for her partner, Ella
‘I’m in love. And yeah, it has been three weeks, but that’s fine. That’s absolutely fine. She came to me like a dream, and I was obsessed. I feel like I’ve been missing out. I feel like I went very wrong with men. I don’t like men anymore. I will never go back to a man. God forbid. Yeah, I just love it. I just love it.
‘I feel like I’ve got spring in my step. I feel like I’m glowing. It’s the lesbian glow. I’ve got it. And yeah, that’s my life update.
‘But yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever hard launch though, just because I have been scared off. That been much trauma, many tears, but for now it’s eyelashes and I can’t wait.’
But Grace accidentally ‘hard-launched’ her relationship after a drunken night out in Benidorm, as the two were seen wearing matching ‘I love my girlfriend’ shirts.
Grace joked: ‘I’m sat here on my podcast going ‘you guys will never know who it is’ but I’m rocking around holding her hand with matching ‘I love my girlfriend’ T-shirts. You might as well have just put it on the internet!’
Ella then posted a loved-up snap of the two of them, with Grace’s hand touching her face.
Though only half of Grace’s face could be seen, fans were quick to recognise the beloved podcast host.
‘You might as well have just put it on the internet!’
She added that she’d got ‘paralytic drunk’ while meeting her new girlfriend’s friends and accidentally spent £1,500 on a bottle of vodka.
Though she initially kept their romance a secret, referring to Ella as ‘eyelashes’ on her podcast, Saving Grace, it wasn’t long before the TikTok born TV star revealed the identity of her partner
GK Barry, who made headlines for an awkward appearance on Loose Women this week (pictured), is dating footballer Ella Rutherford
The relationship has been largely kept a secret, but Ella posted a loved-up photo of the two of them to Instagram
GK, real name Grace Keeling, posted a telling clip to her TikTok account reading: ‘I love my girlfriend’
Ella posted a matching picture to her own Instagram feed – while Grace later spoke about the T-shirts on her podcast
Ella played for Charlton for four years and is thought to have begun dating GK mid-May after they met on Instagram
The stunning football star moved in with Grace after their first date as she just ‘never left’ – pictured in a selfie
Grace appeared to confirm the rumours on her TikTok account, posting a series of videos calling herself a ‘WAG’ and saying she was cooking for her ‘wife’
Grace has posted a series of recent videos cooking for Ella while she’s at football practice, and talked about being a ‘full time WAG’
Ella then posted a loved-up snap of the two of them, with Grace’s hand touching her face.
Though only half of Grace’s face could be seen, fans were quick to recognise the beloved podcast host.
A source told The Sun: ‘GK has been seeing Ella for a while but they are very much official now.
‘They grew even closer on holiday in Benidorm and GK has met all her family.
‘She’s really happy and they are having so much fun together.’
Grace appeared to confirm the rumours on her TikTok account, posting a series of videos calling herself a ‘WAG’ and saying she was cooking for her ‘wife’.
‘This is me being a WAG and making dinner for my wife because she’s at football,’ she said.
She was adding ‘chorizo’ but as a ‘newfound lesbian’ said that the shape of it was ‘offensive’.
Ella, pictured, signed for Ipswich Town last month and has previously played for England’s youth team
TikTok sensation Grace herself rose to fame in 2020 after she started posting videos online and was a hit with Gen Z audiences
But the meal seemed to go down well with Ella, with Grace confirming: ‘She loved it! Because she loves me.’
In another, Grace made pulled chicken tacos, telling her followers: ‘Welcome to another episode of cooking for my wife because I am a WAG and when she gets back from football, she’s a vicious, hungry beast.’
Previously, Grace dated Billy Hunt for a couple of years, making regular appearances on her TikTok channel at red carpet events.
In April, GK had asked Ella Toone, who was a guest on her podcast, if she could be set up with one of her teammates – and now her wish has come true.
Rutherford signed with Ipswich Town last month, saying goodbye to Charlton after four years.
She also has played for England’s youth teams and has 31k followers on Instagram.
She’s even appeared on Grace’s podcast – notably without showing her face to the camera – but fans wrote: ‘We all know who it is Grace GET HER ON!’
TikTok sensation Grace herself rose to fame in 2020 after she started posting videos online.