The health condition that led to ‘vicious fillers cycle’ for I'm A Celebrity's Tulisa

Jess Bacon
·Contributor
·3-min read
Tulisa Contostavlos - I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here 2024. (ITV)
Tulisa Contostavlos, of N-Dubz fame, is a contestant on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here 2024. (ITV)

Tulisa has spoken about the health condition that led to a "vicious cycle" of cosmetic surgery, after social media users commented on her appearance during I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!.

The N-Dubz singer made her debut on the reality series last night (Sunday 17 November) and some viewers were surprised by the 36-year-old celebrity's change in appearance.

Presenter Rylan defended her on X (formally Twitter), writing: "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**t jokes about her on twitter yeah x."

Ahead of arriving in Australia, Tulisa opened up about the reason behind her procedures on Olivia Attwood’s podcast So Wrong Its Right, explaining that she had fillers to "balance" out her appearance after suffering from Bell’s palsy. The NHS describes the condition as "temporary weakness or lack of movement that usually affects one side of the face", which, with steroid treatment, can improve within six months.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 05: Dappy, Tulisa and Fazer of N-Dubz pose in the press room at Wireless Festival in Hyde Park on July 5, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Jo Hale/Getty Images)
Tulisa with her N-Dubz co-stars in 2009, prior to suffering from Bell's palsy. (Getty Images)

For the singer, the sign of an imminent attack was a "tingling sensation like little ants crawling in my face" which first began in her early 20s. "When I was about 20 - I want to say 24, I had my first Bell’s palsy attack," the singer said. "I was sat at home and I had this huge burst of inflammation on my cheek, as if I had an abscess in there or something.

"I went straight to a doctor, they gave me antibiotics, steroid injections so it went down and I was left with some mild swelling but then my whole face just dropped and my face remained like that for seven months."

"I didn't go out, I just hid in the house," she said. "Then as I was coming to the end of the seven months, my face was still not right, I still had a mild swelling, so I would go and get fillers to try and balance it out. You can imagine the vicious cycle."

British singer Tulisa Contostavlos leaves Westminister Magistrates Court in London, on December 19, 2013. Contostavlos, 25, denied being concerned with the supply of Class A drugs at Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday. She is accused of setting up an £860 deal for 13.9 grams of cocaine to an undercover reporter. AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALL (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
During her court trial in 2013, Tulisa confirmed she had fillers, but only recently explained why. (BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

Over the next two years, Tulisa gained most of her facial movement back until she had another attack during the N-Dubz reunion.

"I'd have good days and bad days and on some days I’d take steroids, which would bring it down," she said. "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?"

The doctor later found three infected cysts in her cheek during an ultrasound, which caused swelling and one of which "actually popped" when the GP inspected it.

"I’ve no idea what they were caused by - they weren't filler, they were just self-occurring, but I came out of the operation and instantly my face was less swollen," Tulisa added.

In the past, Tulisa has confirmed she has had filler in her lips and cheek, which has made her look "different" to her time on X-Factor.

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