I’m A Celebrity star Coleen Rooney admits missing her family in jungle made her nearly quit

She emerged stronger and confident than ever

Coleen Rooney made her children and husband Wayne proud on I’m A Celebrity by coming second to Danny Jones. But her journey to the finale wasn’t easy.

The 38-year-old mum was worried that she didn’t quite fit in on the show as she was surrounded by immensely talented personalities. She shared the camp with singers, a pro dancer, a model and more stars.

Although Coleen became a favourite to win in the days leading to the I’m A Celebrity final, she has admitted to considering quitting in the beginning.

Coleen considered quitting after a week (Credit: ITV)

Coleen Rooney admits missing children on I’m A Celebrity almost made her quit

Obviously, viewers enjoyed watching Coleen on screen, that’s why she wasn’t voted off. However, she felt otherwise when riddled with self-doubt and low self-esteem.

She told the Mirror that there came a point when she strongly thought of her family and questioned her decision to come on the show.

Just one week into the jungle, she was finding it hard to stay away from her loved ones. “In that first week, I did wake up one morning and I looked at the pillow and I saw on it obviously Wayne and the kids, and I had a little cry and I thought I don’t know whether I can go all this way,” she recollected.

It was just me sitting back and looking at that camp and thinking I was more quieter than everyone else.

But she “soon snapped out [of] it” and went about her day. She tried to distract herself with chores instead. “I went off and did the washing up and collected the wood and did whatever I had to do,” Coleen said.

In addition to being separated from her husband and kids, the WAG suffered a secret health battle. Coleen told Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley on Good Morning Britain that alcohol and caffeine withdrawal got to her.

Back home, her sons struggled to cope amid her I’m A Celebrity stint. Coleen’s mum Colette later landed down under with her grandsons to support her daughter.

Coleen came second to Danny (Credit: ITV)

Coleen admits being ‘more quieter’ than her campmates

Despite feeling she didn’t belong on the show, Coleen was made to feel comfortable.

“It was just me sitting back and looking at that camp and thinking I was more quieter than everyone else. But obviously people enjoyed it and wanted me to stay in there longer and see a bit more of me. I don’t know why but they did,” she said.

As with all campmates, Coleen also struggled with the weather when the camp was hit with heavy rains and storms. She remembered spending the night in the Bush Telegraph with others when the entire jungle was swamped with floodwater leading to evacuation.

Adding to her plight was one terrifying incident when a critter crawled into her ear. Medics rushed in to help Coleen when she was in the middle of a trial. However, she was safe as the insect was successfully removed.

All in all, Coleen redefined her image as the WAG and made her husband and sons proud with her impressive performance.