The secret way GK Barry communicates with her jungle friend

Being separated for an extended period of time is a challenge for any relationship.

But I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here! star GK Barry is determined not to let her stint in the Australian jungle affect her romance with footballer girlfriend Ella Rutherford.

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Because the TikToker secretly communicates with her other half thanks to a clever accessory to her outfit.

Eagle-eyed fans of the show have noticed that GK’s name necklace doesn’t actually bear her own name, but instead reads “eyelashes.”

And this is a nice reference to Ella.

In the comments of a video pointing out the love note on the necklace, one person wrote, “I love this!”

“I needed this,” said another.

“I wondered what it said!” a third commented.

“Oh, that’s why!” said someone else.

Before they made their relationship public, GK called Ella “lashes” – with the nickname inspired by the fact that Ella has “the best (fake) eyelashes in town.”

GK also has a small “E” on her nails, as a reference to her friend.

The pair’s romance was exclusively revealed by The Sun and was due to series in the summer of 2024, after they met each other’s families and went on holiday together.

And speaking about her girlfriend to her fellow campmates in the I’m a Celebrity jungle, GK said: “It was by accident that I found Ella, through a mutual friend, and then I really liked her the first day I met her met, but I never told my parents.

“I would have said, ‘Oh, I’m just going to my friend Ella’ or ‘I’m staying close to Ella,’ so they would have heard her name.”

When they visited while Ella was there, GK told them she was her friend.

“(But) They just love her, they’ve never had a problem with it,” she added.

And despite being in the jungle on the other side of the world, GK also manages to send her other half some sweet gifts.

Who is GK Barry?

GK Barry amassed more than a million followers on TikTok in just over a year during the first UK lockdown of 2020.

Grace Keeling, better known as GK Barry, is a 25-year-old social media influencer.

She rose to fame during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, creating a TikTok account and posting short vlogs showing her daily life.

Although she originally planned to remain low-key, she gained a large following in no time.

By August 2020, just five months after starting her account, she had already gained 100,000 followers and reached over a million in just over a year.

She now has over 4.5 million followers on her social media platforms.

After obtaining a degree in Film Studies from Nottingham Trent University, Grace continued her education with a Masters in Digital Marketing.

While at Nottingham Trent, she worked on the set of the BBC series Doctors and the Netflix film Hood, as well as creating content for ShawMind – a charity dedicated to promoting mental health awareness.

Grace is known for her podcast, called The Saving Grace Podcast.

During the show she invites celebrities and influencers for a conversation about life and the latest trends, but also about embarrassing stories from their past.

In May 2024, Grace said she was dating a female footballer.

Then it emerged in June that the football player in question plays for England.

The Sun revealed that Grace and Charlton Athletic striker Ella Rutherford, 24, are getting serious – they have met each other’s families and holidayed together.

A source exclusively told The Sun: “GK has had Ella for a while but they are very official now.

“They grew even closer during a holiday in Benidorm and GK met her whole family.

“She is very happy and they have so much fun together.”

Before leaving for camp, GK sent a huge bouquet of beautiful red roses to her friend, along with a note that said, “I miss you, my little pea had an angel.

“I love you xxxxxx”.

Ella shared a photo of the flowers on her social media and admitted they brought her to tears.

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