I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Fred Sirieix’s partner has spoken out after he became embroiled in a distressing row with fellow campmate Nella Rose.
The French maitre d’hotel had already clashed with politician Nigel Farage, hitting out at the former Ukip leader’s ‘shameful’ anti-immigration poster in the Brexit campaign.
Then on Tuesday night, Fred realised he had severely offended YouTuber Nella after making a comment that he could be her dad.
The First Dates star insisted he had made the remark because of their ages, as he is 51 and she is 26 – but Nella, who lost both her mum and her dad at a young age, was massively hurt by the comment.
She explained in the Bush Telegraph that Fred had made the joke after she had opened up to him ‘about the fact my dad’s passed away’.
‘I didn’t say anything about it last night because I was kind of just annoyed about it. So I slept on it… and I was just like, this is not the kind of person I want to be around,’ she said.
Fred didn’t realise the faux pas until the next morning, where he began calling to her to ask if she wanted food and she repeatedly ignored him, until she told him ‘leave me alone.’
Bewildered, the TV star asked what he’d done wrong, with Nella hitting out: ‘You know that my mum’s dead, and you know that my dad’s dead. You know that, right? I’ve come to find out that every time I wanna get creative around the fire, or I want to have something my way, my own food that I am entitled to, my way, you tend to get an attitude, right?’
She said he had an ‘attitude’ about the fact he told her, ‘You know I could be your dad, right?’
‘I don’t care how you said it to me, it’s disrespectful and I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to be around you,’ Nella said. ‘I only allow people to disrespect me once. You hurt my feelings. I was very upset… you keep trying to speak to me when I don’t want to speak to you.
‘I would rather stay away from you, I don’t want to eat your food, I don’t want to talk to you. We can just live, you live on that side, I live on this side.’
Fred apologised profusely, insisting he didn’t know he offended her with the comment and ‘only said that because I am older than you, I am 51 and you’re 26.’
He added: ‘I made a mistake and I said something and I offended you, I’m really sorry. I’m really sorry you feel like this.’
Nella was having none of it, saying ‘you’re not going to little girl me.’
She said she would accept his apology but ‘I don’t want to eat no food that you’re cooking, don’t talk to me, you stay over there, I stay over here and we can live.’
Following the row, a post was shared on Fred’s Instagram Story, which was reshared by his partner on her own.
The caption reshared by his partner, who goes by the handle ‘@fruitcake_fundamentals’ on the social media platform, read: ‘Tough watch for some of the show tonight but Fred did us so proud – we know his intention would never be to upset anyone. Keep your head up Fred – we love you.’
Nella’s father died in 2020, with the YouTuber sharing a photograph of them together to announce the news, writing: ‘Watching you suffer for the past month has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life but at least you’re not in pain anymore 🕊 💛.
‘Gonna make you the proudest dad ever in the years to come because I know you’re still by [my] side every step of the way.’
Nella has faced serious tragedy in her life, and six years ago was left homeless after mother died unexpectedly in 2017.
In a YouTube video on her past, the star said: ‘She died in my arms. It is the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my life.
‘I was planning on using my student loan and my little YouTube money to pay the rent and bills. But then my brother and I got a letter telling us we had 30 days to move out. So I’m in my second year of uni, I’m dealing with my mum’s death and now we’re homeless.’
She had come to the UK from Belgium with her mother and brother when she was seven years old.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! returns to ITV at 9pm on Wednesday.
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