Frankie Essex EXC: Ex-TOWIE star reveals she’s crept up to nearly 13st after ‘hitting rock bottom’

Frankie Essex has revealed she’s crept up to 12 stone and 13 pounds after ‘hitting rock bottom’ in lockdown.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the former TOWIE star, 33, admitted she ‘felt like s***’ when she discovered her weight two weeks ago after ‘swerving those scales’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

The beautician – who has shared candid images of herself in underwear – aims to lose up to one and a half stone in eight weeks using Muscle Food’s Goal Getters plan, and will also embark on an exercise regime set up by her personal trainer beau, Luke. 

Reality star Frankie has been open about her fluctuating figure in the past, having shed two stone back in 2016, before gaining weight a year later following a crippling knee injury.

The older sister of Joey Essex overhauled her eating habits once again in 2019, but insisted she’s struggled to commit to the lifestyle since COVID-19 struck. 

‘I make so many excuses’, the media personality told us. ‘I got on the scales about two weeks ago at the night time – which you shouldn’t really do – and I was 12st 13lbs. I just thought, ”Oh my God!”

‘I kept making excuses until I hit rock bottom and got on the scales. I didn’t even tell Luke at first, but I’m only hurting myself at the end of the day. It’s not really about the dress size for me, as if I lose weight, I’d still be able to fit into a lot of my clothes. 

‘I tend to put on weight on my legs and my belly, but I usually have a small waist. I recently started working at a school, and I’ve just been eating all the sweet treats! I can’t eat what I want everyday.’

Confessing she’s ‘freaked out’ at the prospect of tipping the scales at 13 stone, Frankie added: ‘It upset me and I just felt really swollen. I just feel big, so I need to sort this out. 

‘With the leading up to Christmas, if I just go all out and keep on eating what I want, then I’m going to be the biggest I’ve ever been and feel really s**t. I can’t do that to myself because then I’d feel even worse. 

‘My boyfriend is really healthy, but I’ve been eating what I want during this lockdown and during my recent birthday. You see it pile on quite quickly, especially with the drinking.’

The TV star insisted that while she’s keen on upping her fitness routine, she doesn’t want to end up looking ‘gaunt’ by losing too much weight. 

Reflecting on slimming down to just nine and a half stone in the past, the blonde said: ‘I’d be happy at 11.5 stone. I’ve lost loads of weight before and weighed 9.5 stone at my lightest but I feel like it aged me a little bit. I looked very gaunt. 

‘I generally look better with a bit of weight on my face, especially as I’m 33. When I’ve lost weight dramatically, I felt like I looked a bit ill.’

Detailing her ongoing battle with body dysmorphia and its effect on her mental health, she explained: ‘I’ve got a skinny mirror so I normally look at that and try to trick myself. 

‘I met some women at Essex’ Tiny Tones Baby Bank earlier this month and found that they are so hard-working. You’ve got women out there who are volunteering for children, so I need to get my a** in gear. I just got lost in the moment and just lazy.

‘With lockdown, I had to cancel my clients which affected my money. My school closed down because one of the children got coronavirus. I know I’m not the only one suffering, but I just think, ”what are we all going to do?”’

The Essex native went on to share her hopes in maintaining a healthy weight by using online retailer MuscleFood’s Goal Getter programme, which will provide her pre-made meals to help her achieve her goals.

Frankie added: ‘It’s such a good help, especially to start off with. It’s quite easy to get out of it, I make so many excuses. I want to lose a good stone and a half and keep it off – it’s maintaining it that’s hard for me. I was swerving those scales. 

‘My boyfriend is so consistent as he’s always out and about with his job, whereas I didn’t have my little bit on the side with the facials I do [during lockdown]. I just got stuck in a rut, stop going on walks and just started to hibernate.’   

In the relationship department, the influencer has been dating her boyfriend Luke for over a year.

While she gushed about their ‘happy’ romance, Frankie claimed the couple are in no rush to tie the knot, and would prioritise starting a family first so their future children can be involved in their wedding.

The skincare specialist said: ‘I definitely don’t feel pressured to get married and I wouldn’t put that pressure on Luke – he’d probably run the other way if I did! 

‘We still got so much to do. We went Bali last year and his plan was to go on a different city break each month this year. We went to Ireland, Copenhagen and Poland and then we went into lockdown. 

‘Hopefully when we can do more of that and get a mortgage together then children will be first and then marriage will come after. I always said that if I had kids I’d want them to be at my wedding, like Debbie [Bright] from TOWIE. 

‘I was at mum and dad’s wedding when she was pregnant with my brother. To spend all that money and have all those memories, I’d rather have it as a family.’

Earlier this year, the social media star briefly returned to TOWIE as the ITVBe show marked it’s 10-year anniversary.

The entrepreneur insisted she hasn’t ruled out a full-time comeback on the series as she said: ‘We spent some time together during the tenth anniversary with my nan, who completely loves being on TV. 

‘My nan is 81 and thinks she’s made it, she loves it! I’m just really happy we’ve all done it together. There weren’t any talks of it but we’ll see what happens, I have a job on the side now.’

The businesswoman also touched on watching her cousins Chloe, Frankie and Demi Sims front the hit as she added: ‘Frankie has come out of her shell. 

‘She was living up North for about four years for university, she was my best mate when we were younger. I’m so proud that she and Demi are on the show with their older sister. 

‘Frankie is so head-strong, especially with her public break-up with Harry [Lee]. I think she’s going to surprise herself and get bigger and bigger, we all help each other out!’