“She Ticked All The Boxes”: Joey Essex On Finding Romance In The ‘I’m A Celeb’ Jungle
Joey Essex is a man who knows how to entertain and stir up drama on reality TV — and break more than a few hearts along the way.
While he’s not well-known in Australia, before debuting on this year’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! Joey was a reality TV staple over in UK. He first gained attention appearing on The Only Way Is Essex before joining celebrity editions of reality shows ranging from Ex on the Beach to MasterChef, not to mention the UK version of I’m A Celebrity.
In a chat with us this morning, Joey said he chose to do the Australian series after having such a positive experience the first time around. “It was one of the best experiences of my life when I first did the UK one,” he told Punkee. “So when I got offered to do it again, it was a no-brainer. I was so excited and so gassed to go back to the exact same jungle.”
As far as Joey’s familiarity with the Aussie celebs cast this year goes, he had no clue. “I did not recognise anyone. I did not literally know one person, or what anyone does,” he said. Joey added that he was excited to get to know new people who had no preconceived judgements about him. “In my life [in the UK], a lot of people know who I am, they know what I do, so it was nice for people to get to know me fresh.”
Joey stated that he formed friendships with everyone in the jungle, but found himself mostly gravitating towards Derek Kickett, pseudo-celebrity David Subritzky, Beau Ryan, and of course, Maria Thattil. “They were the main people I would hang around with,” he said.
One friendship that has slowly blossomed into a jungle romance is Maria and Joey’s, with the two even sharing a sleeping bag and a sneaky kiss on this week’s episode. Joey had nothing but positive things to say about the Miss Universe representative. “She’s a really sweet girl. I’m attracted to a nice, genuine, humble and honest girl — and she has that all. I had a connection with her, she’s very truthful, and she’s beautiful as well. She had it all really, she ticked all the boxes,” he said.
Joey told us he didn’t have any reservations about starting a romance with Maria on the show. “For me, I thought: why not? It was more up to her because it was her first TV show so I didn’t want to put any pressure on. I thought in the end we will see what happens… under the covers.”
As for whether he would consider himself to be officially dating Maria while in the jungle, Joey was puzzled. “When you say dating, I don’t know what you mean? Yeah we went on dates, we went on a little boat trip, we get to know each other a bit more and we kissed,” he said. That sounds like dating to me, Joey!
When asked what’s next for the adorable pair, Joey admitted that him living in the UK was a significant barrier. “We are still in touch. We always message most days. But she’s in Australia and I’m in Essex, so it’s quite difficult. I don’t think you could get any longer distance than this relationship — she’s on the other side of the world!” Joey did say he plans on coming to visit Australia this year, so fingers crossed for a reunion.
Maria also spoke about her jungle relationship with Joey last night on Hot Nights with Abbie Chatfield. “You want a little affection, we’re physical creatures and I’m not about to go start massaging Derek Kickett in the middle of the jungle,” she told the host. “Joey is a nice man.”
Another romance — or well, bromance — that’s got people talking in the jungle this year is between Joey and Beau. “We are both quite similar,” Joey told us. “We both love food — we want it and we have to have it. When I’m hungry, I eat! Beau is the same way, we connected through hunger, we’re both quite athletic, and we both have the same sort of banter.”
The inseparable pair have been renamed ‘Joey and Beau-y’ by campmates, but have increasingly been getting on the other campers’ nerves for eating too much of their food rations. “You’re in an environment like the jungle where people are hungry, people are tired and you’re around the same people every day, and me and him are being brats. We’re like ‘Give us the leftovers!’ and having a laugh, we were having a good time but it rubbed people the wrong way,” Joey admitted.
Where there's food, there's Beau and Joey. #ImACelebrityAU pic.twitter.com/PtVoyFfUg5
— #ImACelebrityAU (@ImACelebrityAU) January 18, 2022
Tensions boiled over last night when Poh Ling Yeow and Tottie Goldsmith were left furious after Joey and Beau ate leftover porridge despite receiving a rewards dinner — meanwhile, the losing team only ate sardines. Joey did not see why this was an issue. “I don’t understand it! There was leftover porridge, if no one wants it, then it’s just there. I’m a big eater!” he said regarding the incident. “If that’s going to upset someone then I’m like, well it’s all worth it because I’m not leaving the food.”
Tonight’s episode promises more drama from #RationsGate, as Tottie and Joey continue the food wars over Joey apparently taking too much rice. “She said I took a big scoop of rice or something ridiculous like that! I was so confused, I did not know what she was talking about, as I know for a fact I took a normal [amount of rice], well normal for me. It was clearly just a way to start drama, or to make a situation, because I didn’t do anything wrong.”
While Joey hopes to become the king of the jungle this season, if he doesn’t claim the crown, he reckons Dylan Lewis should take the honours. “If I don’t win, I want Dylan to win,” Joey said. “If he wasn’t there, there were points I would have struggled with, but Dylan was there to pick me up. He is just a lovely bloke and I’m so glad I met him. He’s a friend for life.”
During Joey’s time in the jungle, he opened up about the death of his mother which he addressed for the first time in BBC special Joey Essex: Grief and Me. Joey said this year’s I’m A Celebrity series was the only time he spoke about his childhood trauma on reality TV since the moving documentary. “When I first went on the show [in the UK], I had a lot of secrets. This was the first TV show I’ve gone on where I’ve opened up and spoke about some of my secrets. It was eye-opening, it was tough, but I felt like I needed to do it,” he said.
“I’m always Joey Essex, but to open up about that part of me — I was proud of that.”
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