Grace Keeling aka GK Barry is heading into the jungle (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Social media sensation GK Barry is heading into the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! jungle in just a few days.
The 25-year-old, whose real name is Grace Keeling, has already landed in Australia, and will be joining the likes of Danny Jones and Coleen Rooney in a matter of days, according to the rumoured line-up.
The Saving Grace podcast host will be put through her paces on Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s reality series, but she’s already sparked drama before even being announced as part of the official line-up.
It’s been claimed ITV was having ‘crisis talks’ after Grace’s interview with controversial content creator Bonnie Blue, who spoke about how she has specifically ventured to student areas in Australia and the UK to sleep with 18-year-olds who she describes as ‘barely legal’.
It was claimed promotional clips from the interview were removed from Instagram and TikTok, while a source said the controversy sparked ‘an absolute PR nightmare’ for I’m A Celebrity.
She’s touched down in Australia (Picture: James Gourley/Shutterstock)
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Grace has yet to speak out about the claims, while Bonnie later defended her, telling Metro that the ‘backlash’ that the podcast host received ‘should have been aimed at me’.
As we wait to hear if Grace brings up the infamous interview to her fellow campmates, here’s everything you need to know about her…
Who is GK Barry?
Grace is an internet personality and social media star, who began posting on TikTok in 2020, where she quickly gained a huge following.
To date, she has 3.6million followers on the platform, and a further 853,000 on Instagram.
Grace rose to fame after going viral on TikTok in 2020 (Picture: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock)
The social media sensation has 3.6million TikTok followers (Picture: Instagram/@gkbarry_)
Her TikTok name came from using her initials and the surname of a friend, with Grace plummeting to fame from a video miming along to Gemma Collins from Big Brother during the pandemic, while she was a student at Nottingham Trent University.
After graduating, Grace worked at Costa Coffee but quit within a year of signing to a talent agency.
In 2022, Grace began presenting her podcast, Saving Grace, which has seen the likes of Alison Hammond, Alan Carr and Katie Price as guests.
She’s also toured the podcast around the UK, and racked up 489,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Earlier this year, Grace began appearing on Loose Women as a guest panellist, becoming the youngest ever to do so, and she’s appeared on the likes of The Weakest Link, The Wheel, and Love Island: Aftersun.
In an interview with Metro in June, the influencer spoke about her rise to stardom, saying: ‘Worst thing about being in the public eye is probably if I’m on a night out and I am very drunk.
‘People tend to notice that more because they’re like, why is GK Barry swinging from a pole? So that’s probably the worst part — embarrassing myself more people notice it, but there aren’t really many cons.’
Speaking of her future, ahead of any names being rumoured for I’m A Celebrity, she joked: ‘In 10 years time, I hopefully will still have perky tits and I will be on the telly.
‘Hopefully, I’ll still be blonde and my hair hasn’t snapped off. Just alive will do actually, so the bars on the floor.’
Grace has since made TV appearances on the likes of Loose Women (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
What is GK Barry’s net worth?
According to CelebrityNetWorth.uk, Grace’s estimated net worth is said to be around £1million, from her social media platforms, podcast, brand partnerships and sponsorships.
Earlier this year, she told Cosmopolitan: ‘When I hit 200k followers on TikTok, my current manager reached out. Within three months, I was getting off from 12 hour shifts and being asked to film social ads. My first brand deal was for some leggings, which [my followers] sold out.
‘I was making under £1,000 a month [as a barista] and brands were offering me £600 per TikTok video. [Today] I’m turning down six-figure sums.’
Her estimated net worth is said to be £1million (Picture: PA)
Is GK Barry in a relationship?
Grace is in a relationship with footballer Ella Rutherford, who plays for Ipswich Town.
After reports that she was ‘secretly married’, Grace shared in a TikTok video: ‘I haven’t got married. I just wanted to cook chicken tacos for my girlfriend. How does that mean we’ve eloped?’
Talking about keeping her relationship out of the spotlight, she added: ‘I feel I’ve done an alright job, I’ve never confirmed nor denied who my girlfriend is, granted you all f**king know who it is, but I’ve just not said yes or no because I want to live a peaceful life.’
The pair have become Instagram official, after Grace referred to Ella as ‘Eyelashes’ on social media (Picture: Instagram)
After announcing her new relationship in May, Grace didn’t name her girlfriend but referenced her as ‘Eyelashes’.
‘I’m not gonna say who it is but I’m gonna give her a nickname called eyelashes. So, whenever I refer to eyelashes, I am talking about the love of my life,’ she said, according to PinkNews.
‘I’m in love. And yeah, it has been three weeks but that’s fine. That’s absolutely fine. She came to me like a dream and I was obsessed.
‘I feel like I’ve been missing out. I feel like I went very wrong with men. I don’t like men anymore. I will never go back to a man.’
The pair went Instagram official in August, with Ella wishing Grace happy birthday and writing: ‘I love you more and more every day.’
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