Former TOWIE star Charlie King has revealed that he is battling an agonising bout of shingles and says that stress has left him run down.
The reality favourite, 40, took to Instagram to share his ordeal, posting a picture of the painful rash with bumps spread across his neck.
He told fans: ‘Shingles are horrible (it’s like being stung by nettles & it not easing off). Proper lousy.’
Charlie later updated his followers, thanking them for their support and admitted just how tough he has found everything in recent weeks.
Dressed in a black hoodie and black cap, with a prominent white plaster across his nose, Charlie said: ‘Honestly, thank you. I’ve had so many kind, lovely messages, reassurance. A lot of you have been through it.
Opening up further, he admitted the illness was a ‘wake-up call’ after letting stress and bad habits pile up.
Former TOWIE star Charlie King has revealed that he is battling an agonising bout of shingles and says that stress has left him run down
The reality favourite, 40, took to Instagram to share his ordeal, posting a picture of the painful rash with bumps spread across his neck
He continued: ‘I didn’t know anything about shingles, I didn’t know they could really take a hold like they have but in a weird guys, it’s a wake up call because I have been super stressed with numerous things this year and I’ve really let everything consume me, to knock me off balance.
‘I was saying this earlier in the week, that I’ve not been to the gym, I haven’t been eating right, I’ve not been de-stressing. I’ve just been kind of going back and forth with things and it’s no good.’
Charlie added: ‘I’m on the anti-viral meds and I’ll do what I need to do with this. I just want to feel better, I want to feel alert again and then it’s time to make a bit of a change so that’s what we gotta do.’
According to the NHS, shingles is an infection that causes a painful rash, often beginning with tingling skin, headaches and flu-like symptoms before spreading across the body.
Charlie shot to found fame when he starred on TOWIE back in 2012, where fans followed his relationship with Gemma Collins, as their relationship unravelled on screen for fans to follow, before coming out as gay on national TV back in 2014.
After leaving TOWIE in 2013, Charlie found himself ‘consumed’ by his appearance as a result of being in the spotlight.
He underwent botched nose job after the first Covid-19 lockdown, which he admits made his confidence plummet.
In July, he appeared on Olivia Attwood’s ITVBe show, The Price of Perfection as he underwent Revision Rhinoplasty surgery.
Charlie later updated his followers, thanking them for their support and admitted just how tough he has found everything in recent weeks
Dressed in a black hoodie and black cap, with a prominent white plaster across his nose, Charlie admitted the illness was a ‘wake-up call’ after letting stress and bad habits pile up
The reality star, 40, found fame when he starred on TOWIE back in 2012, later becoming ‘consumed’ by his appearance and resorting to surgery
Earlier this year, he appeared on Olivia Attwood’s ITVBe show, The Price of Perfection as he underwent Revision Rhinoplasty surgery (pictured on the show)
However, just a month later, at the end of August, Charlie revealed he had an infection and told fans he would need further work on his nose to fix the damage caused (pictured at the beginning of August)
At the time, Charlie told fans: ‘Trying to fix something that’s consumed the past 5 years of my life hasn’t been an easy task or a decision I’ve taken lightly.
‘In order for me to regain control of the situation I decided to let Olivia & her incredible documentary ‘The Price of Perfection’ help me tell part of my story.
‘The cameras were allowed in to follow the full procedure which shows the true extent of what goes into a revision rhinoplasty.’
However, just a month later, at the end of August, Charlie revealed he had an infection and told fans he would need further work on his nose to fix the damage caused.
He later posted a video reminding himself that it can take over a year for a nose to fully heal and to remind himself to ‘trust the process.’
TOWIE started before Instagram was founded, meaning the reality TV stars had no idea what they were in for, but Charlie has made no secret of how being image conscious has affected his mental health.
He told The Sun: ‘I think you can get very caught up in your image, in this day and age, with what you think you need to be, and obviously the social media world that we live in, and my background with reality TV and having a bit of exposure and being in in the spotlight once upon a time, you do get very consumed with how you look.
‘I got in a very, very dark place with how I saw myself, and that’s why I resorted to plastic surgery, something that I’m now having to deal with, even today.’
The former TOWIE star, who appeared in 55 episodes of the show, admitted he wasn’t ‘strong’ enough for a career on the ITVbe series (pictured on the show with Gemma Collins)
The former TOWIE star, who appeared in 55 episodes of the show, is now a personal trainer and focuses on both his mental and physical health.
He has since admitted he wasn’t ‘strong’ enough for a career on the ITVbe series and advises young reality TV hopefuls to understand the long journey they are embarking on.
In a previous interview with The Mirror, Charlie said: ‘I probably wasn’t strong enough for a career that so image based. Obviously I’m older now and I made a few mistakes but equally I try and make those mistakes into a positive now and lead by example.
‘Being famous has got all these shiny lights about it. You see the influencer lifestyle or you see the reality TV lifestyle and you think it’s so glamorous but there is a very dark undertone to it all – there’s no denying that.’