While she was first introduced to the country as the Married At First Sight villain, Davina Rankin has experienced quite the redemption arc since appearing on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
WATCH: I’m A Celeb | Davina opens up about her MAFS experience
Since the day she entered the jungle, Davina was ready to show her authentic self not only to her fellow celebs, but viewers watching at home.
But the reality star confesses to New Idea that she was “really nervous” going into the show.
“I was prepared for the worst and especially having to talk about MAFS and knowing that that episode was airing,” Davina says.
“I was really nervous that it was going to open up a can of worms and I didn’t want to look or sound like a victim; I didn’t want to come across a certain way. I was just so worried about how it was going to be taken.
“But everyone has been so beautiful and supportive and it’s really nice. I feel like I can kind of close that chapter now and just move on as ‘Davina for Davina’ and not ‘Davina from MAFS’.”
Along with fans of the show championing Davina, the first evictee has also received many well wishes from her former MAFS co-stars.
“A lot of the girls, and Dean, Telv… a lot of them have said congratulations,” Davina reveals.
Her former on-screen husband Ryan Gallagher also recently made a quip which referenced Davina’s TV infidelity, saying “it’s a shame (the show) wasn’t filmed in South Africa… where Cheetahs are native.”
“He’s a comedian. He’s so funny.” Davina says, with perhaps a hint of sarcasm, in reference to the comment.
While her on-screen marriage didn’t end well, leaving Davina viciously trolled to the point where she remained house-bound for three months, the I’m A Celeb star says she’s over the moon with her portrayal this time around.
“It was very fun watching it myself for once. I’m not used to being able to handle watching myself on TV, but it was so fun!”
Watching along with her has been her daughter, Mila, and fiancé, Jaxon, whom Davina was overjoyed to reunite with following her eviction.
“I was so upset about missing them that day, especially; so it was very bittersweet, but I was so excited to come home.”
She went on to say that despite being away from her daughter for a short period of time, she felt she had missed so much.
“It’s funny when the kids are at that age they grow really quickly, so when I came and saw my daughter it was as if I hadn’t seen her for months; she just changed so much.”
Last year, Davina also announced she’s headed for the aisle. She tells New Idea that the ceremony is planned for a few months’ time.
“This one will be a real wedding,” she jokes. “This one we’ll actually be married.”
Far from the pomp and circumstance of MAFS, according to Davina, this occasion will be strictly low-key.
“We’re both very chilled out people,” Davina says of her fiancé Jaxon. “It’s all sorted. It’s all planned. Everything’s booked. But it is a very chilled out, relaxed wedding, nothing too crazy, but it is going to be extremely beautiful.”
The soon-to-be newlyweds have also planned a local honeymoon before hopefully jetting off overseas in the next year as a family.
In the jungle, Davina and her fellow celebs became a family of their own, with the MAFS alum describing the atmosphere as “a big love fest”, which made hearing the harrowing stories of her fellow celebs’ all the more confronting.
“They’ve all had their fair share of heartache and battles and struggles, and it really opened my eyes because in my little world it was like I was the only one who had gone through hard things,” Davina says.
“You hear about these people, Tottie and her issue that happened, (referring to the singer’s drug scandal), Dylan losing his brother, Joey losing his mum… it was really hard to hear but it also makes you love them more because you’re like ‘wow, you really are human, you’re all just humans just trying to their best’.”
Throughout her jungle stint, Davina was competing for the Mater – Little Miracles charity, which helps provide support for premature babies. It’s a cause that’s very close to her heart.
“Our family has been supporting them throughout my whole life, really. My dad has been buying tickets in their raffles every month for I don’t even know how many years,” Davina says, adding that her mum would also volunteer as a “cuddler”.
“When there’s a premature baby people come in and they get to be cuddled and have that skin-on-skin feeling. So when their parents aren’t around there’s people there that give that extra support and love.
“They go above and beyond. It’s a really special cause and they do deserve as many eyes as they can get.”
Want more I’m a Celebrity news and goss? Check out the links below!
A fake celebrity enters the jungle: Who *actually* is I’m A Celeb’s David?
Another jungle romance? Here is Joey Essex’s complete dating history
Fans are convinced they already know who wins I’m A Celebrity
From the pageant stage to the jungle: Who is I’m A Celeb’s Maria Thattil?
How a drug scandal turned Tottie Goldsmith’s world upside down
How Beau Ryan’s past scandal has strengthened his family unit
It’s a jungle out there! Where are the I’m A Celeb winners now?
They’re out of here! All the stars who have left I’m A Celebrity
Two engagements and a lot of love: A look at Dylan Lewis’ family life
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