Deni Hines didn’t mince her words when she revealed the reason why she quit I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Australia.
On Tuesday, January 27, the singer, 55, boldly announced to her campmates that she would be leaving the jungle because she hadn’t “been able to go to the toilet for six days”.
She insisted her exit had nothing to do with her clashes in camp, and now, speaking exclusively to New Idea, she has revealed the extent of her health woes after leaving the jungle.
“I was given two laxatives on the day that I eventually left camp, but I didn’t want to take them in camp because I didn’t want to spend hours on the long drop having a bad time,” she said.
“I took one of the laxatives, and then when Dyson came back, and we had lost the trial – it wasn’t because Dyson lost the challenge that I left, it was because I couldn’t eat rice and beans again – but I was just like I cannot stay here.”
She explained that she just “couldn’t bring herself” to use the “long drop” toilet, which she likened to a “garbage bin”, adding: “I’d rather dig a hole and s*** in the jungle, but you can’t because it’s a national park.”
Her decision to quit the show came after she grew concerned for her health, saying she hadn’t been able to use the bathroom properly since entering the jungle.
“I’m a regular person, I’m relatively healthy, I do yoga five days a week, and I listen to my body, and I just knew that my health wasn’t something I was willing to jeopardise just to stay longer on the show,” she said.
“You know, sometimes people don’t s*** for a month, and then their lower intestine explodes, and they’re flooded with toxins. That wasn’t going to be me. No way.”
She insisted she would never say “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here” before her jungle debut, and even now, she still believes that she would have won if it hadn’t been for her constipation struggles.
“It was that bad in there so I had to say those words. Two weeks of not s***ting in there was not good,” she said.
“Had I been able to s***, I would still be in the jungle, and I probably would’ve won! I listen to my body, and I did everything I could to try and s*** so I wouldn’t have to leave.
“I ate grasshoppers, I ate lentils, I ate chickpeas, I didn’t s*** any of that out for two weeks.”
She said her mum, Marcia Hines, was very supportive about her decision to leave, as was her husband, Daniel.
“Mum was stoked that I was out of there because she knew s***ting in a bin wouldn’t be for me. She was like, ‘You’ve always been a tidy girl, this wasn’t for you. You’re a Virgo’.
“Mum was really happy to speak to me because I had no phone in the jungle, and we hadn’t spken fro two weeks. As soon as I got out I called her.”
As for whether her clashes with Cyrell Paule contributed to her quitting? Deni has adamantly shut down those claims!
“I’m in my 50s there was not one person in that camp who could make me leave not one,” she insisted.
“The fact is if I’d been able to s***, I would’ve still been there now… I got out that night, and I took the second laxative, and then I woke up at midnight, and I was sweating and cramping, and I was on the toilet for two hours.
“I was so happy! Once I was out of camp and I had a real toilet, I was good to go!”
Though she enjoyed certain aspects of camp life, Deni admitted she found living with so many people hard to handle, leading to her clashes with her co-stars including Cyrell and Nath Valvo.
“I was taking myself away from camp a lot because I found the amount of people and noise quite hard to handle,” she shared.
“I didn’t have music to distract myself or anything to shut off. The day I decided to leave, I noticed a plane fly overhead for the first time in two weeks, and I thought to myself, ‘that’s a sign that I’ve got to go’.”
As for whether she will take part in any more reality TV shows? She might, but it won’t be with MAFS star Cyrell.
“I said to my agent, ‘Next show you get me, can we make sure there’s a flushing toilet and real food please?'” she quipped.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! airs on Monday, Tuesday And Wednesdays at 7.30pm, and Sundays at 7pm. Watch and Stream for free on Channel 10.
