Rebekah Vardy has been branded a ‘bully’ and ‘obnoxious’ by former I’m a Celebrity contestant Iain Lee, who claims he suffered a nervous breakdown after appearing on the show with her.
Mr Lee appeared on the reality TV show in 2017 and claimed the WAG made him “f**king miserable” in the jungle and left him feeling so isolated that he was left in tears and having to go to therapy.
Vardy is back in the I’m a Celebrity spotlight despite not being a contestant with a scathing newspaper column about the show in which she has reignited her war of words with Coleen Rooney, with whom she was locked in an infamous libel trial. 2022.
In a series of cutting comments, Vardy claimed she hoped Rooney would be forced to “eat a penis or a humble pie” in the jungle, before recently slamming BBC Radio 1 presenter Dean McCullough for making Rooney “fun” on the show had made’ in a blistering attack.
Vardy, 42, also branded presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly as ‘two small-minded men’, while she described Coleen as ‘the gift that keeps on giving’ after her canoe capsized during the celebrities’ race to camp.
Mr Lee, a former presenter and comedian, told MailOnline: ‘There are people who like the fame of being outrageous and obnoxious because it keeps them in the spotlight. I think Rebekah Vardy is one of them.
During their time on I’m A Celebrity in 2017, Rebekah Vardy was accused of ‘bullying’ Iain Lee, who claims he suffered a nervous breakdown after appearing on the show with her
Vardy, seen leaving a hair salon in Leicester this week, focused on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! presents Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly in a scathing newspaper column
A photo from the 2017 show shows Lee breaking down in tears after failing a challenge due to his fear of heights
“When I was on the show, she bullied me and led a clique that bullied me. There were two occasions when I wanted to get out, it was so toxic and dark there. I thought, “I can’t be with these people.” I don’t watch the show now because of what I went through.”
Mr Lee claimed the first words Vardy said to him when he arrived in the jungle, later than the other competitors, were: ‘I think you’re bloody good.’
He added: “I did a challenge and won. Ant and Dec then asked me to pick five people who would live in relative luxury for the next five days, while the others would not.
‘I didn’t choose her and that made her angry. She came up to me, pointed at me and cursed at me. It was very intimidating and it didn’t really make me feel welcome.”
Recalling another occasion when he failed a challenge and burst into tears, he said Vardy told him: ‘Real men don’t cry.’
Viewers were shocked by the bullying scandal involving Vardy, Jamie Lomas, Amir Khan and Denis Wise, who were all accused of victimizing Mr Lee.
He said: ‘They were all a clique and them [Vardy] led it. I never received any support from her or her group.”
In another incident, dubbed ‘Strawberrygate’, Mr Lee and boxer Amir won a treat after completing a challenge and both ate a plate of strawberries and cream before returning to their campmates.
After Lee dissolved into tears and refused to complete a Dingo Dollar challenge due to his crippling fear of heights, Vardy said she ‘wouldn’t tolerate’ his behaviour.
Vardy was accused of treating Lee unfairly in the camp and after she left the show she doubled down by calling the radio host ‘fake’.
Adding fuel to the fire, Vardy was seen shaking hands with Amir Khan and Dennis Wise on the Coming Out show as they saw Lee finish in third place.
Khan later convinced them that it was Mr Lee’s idea to eat them when in reality it was his.
Mr Lee said: ‘That really pissed her off and she gave me a huge tongue lashing. She was really angry and was being very mean. All these years people have been telling me about the strawberry incident and how I was treated.”
He revealed that he was so devastated by his treatment by Vardy that he had to undergo extensive therapy after leaving the show and that his experience prompted him to change careers and retrain as a consultant.
Mr Lee previously presented a show on talkRadio and Jack FM.
He now works with victims of bullying and helps those suffering from depression, anxiety and other mental health issues.
Mr Lee added: “My experience in the jungle led me to change careers and become a consultant. I started seeing a wonderful therapist and processing what had happened to me. When I came out of the show, I wasn’t okay. It sent me into a spiral of depression and anxiety. It really upset me.
‘I let her know [Vardy] made me fucking miserable and isolated when I was in the jungle and was a bully, liar and manipulator. But that’s all in the past now.’
He added: “I have been able to make peace with it and put it into perspective that the behavior directed at me was not my fault. I just never fit into Rebekah Vardy’s idea of a man. I had to go through this process or it would have eaten me.”
Speaking on Good Morning Britain after leaving camp, Vardy tried to defend herself, insisting her words on Extra Camp had been ‘taken out of context’.
During the 2017 series of I’m A Celebrity, Vardy vehemently denied the bullying claims and sobbed as she insisted she had not attacked the broadcaster as part of a gang.
When he left the camp, Lee initially denied that Vardy had bullied him, saying: ‘There was no bullying. Let’s put this rumor to rest once and for all. Bullying is a very serious matter’
After watching the Coming Out Show, Lee appeared to change his tune towards Vardy, tweeting that he was unaware of the comments being made ‘behind his back’.
Vardy has denied bullying Mr Lee, claiming after leaving the show: ‘You know what, I was the one who supported him the most. A bully? I’ve never been a bully in my life.’
She also insisted in a later newspaper interview that the claims were “false.”
Vardy added: “Edited TV looks a certain way. I have nothing bad to say about him.”
But Mr Lee pushed back on her denials.
He said: ‘She feels entitled. Her attitude is: ‘You may not like me, but I’m going to express my opinion.’ But when others try to express their opinions and stand up to her, she doesn’t like it.
‘You could see that when she came off the show because she seemed very surprised that the comments about her were negative and she was accused of bullying me. That threw her off, and she became very defensive and tried to suppress any conversation about what she had done.”
Vardy was the third campmate to be eliminated from the show, while Mr Lee stayed until the final day and finished in third place.
He said: ‘When she was voted out I was so happy. She had a very dark air about her. We never got along and she made it very clear she didn’t like me.’
Despite his experience, Mr Lee insists he holds no grudge against Vardy or any of the others accused of bullying him.
He said: ‘I have no bad feelings towards Vardy, don’t think about her at all, and after going through some tough times I’m really glad I carried on. I’m a celebrity and I’m at peace with what happened for me.
‘But I wouldn’t want to drink coffee with it [Vardy] or see her.’
He added: “I may have finished third on the show but I feel like I won. I’m enjoying my new life and career.’
Asked whether he would take on Vardy as a client in his work as a consultant, he replied diplomatically: “Let’s just say it would be inappropriate and there are people I wouldn’t want to work with.”