Cute nicknames, WAG dreams & designer vagina fails – inside the romance of GK Barry & footballer Ella Rutherford

WITH her theatrical hysterics and kind demeanour, jungle sensation GK Barry has already proven herself to be a firm favourite on I’m A Celebrity. 

But her biggest fan of all is waiting patiently beyond the famous rope bridge – her footballer girlfriend Ella Rutherford.

The pair met earlier this year with TikTok star GK – real named Grace Keeling – opening up to fellow campmates about their relationship in last night’s episode. 

Speaking to The Sun’s Jane Moore and Radio 1 DJ Dean McCullough, GK, 25, said, “It was by accident I found Ella, through a mutual friend and I really liked her the first day I met her.”

She’d previously referred to the Ipswich Town striker as “the love of my life” and, as GK gears up to do another trial tonight, Ella, 24, has been watching intently from their home, sharing stories in which she praises her “lil jungle babe”.

With all eyes on GK as the competition heats up, we take a look at the pair’s red hot romance, from quirky code names and saucy social media vids, to awkward vagina gaffes.

With an impressive 3.6m followers on TikTok, social media is GK’s bread and butter, while 

TACTILE TIKTOKS 

Sportswoman Ella boasts a not-too-shabby 104,000 followers of her own. Just as GK went into the jungle, Ella proved just how besotted she was when she shared an intimate video on the site, in which she and GK can be seen in a variety of sweet scenarios, including cuddling on the couch, kissing and play fighting. She captioned it, “The nation will fall in love just like I did.”

Body language expert Judi James believes the girls’ natural chemistry and playfulness signifies a sweet love with a bright future. 

“This is an authentically twinned-looking couple romping, playing, nestling and kissing in a very natural-looking, non-performative way,” she explains, having examined the video. 

“There are signs of deeper love via those tellingly softened eye expressions and the head closeness in many of their poses. Their body language suggests there is love on both sides.

“They snuggle together like kittens or puppies, suggesting trust, comfort, security and mutual levels of affection.” 

CANDID CODE NAME

Although the pair are now completely out in the open, there was a time when GK kept their blossoming romance a secret from her fans, choosing a unique code name for Ella which she would use for the first few months of their relationship.

Rather than blow their cover, GK affectionately – and rather bizarrely – referred to her girlfriend as Eyelashes, apparently due to the fact she has “the best (fake) eyelashes in town”.

Speaking on her podcast Saving Grace back in May, GK said, “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.”

Insisting she was done with men, the bisexual star added. “I’m in love. 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.” 

WAG DREAMS 

The couple sparked wedding rumours in August when cheeky GK posted a video in which she referred to herself as a WAG and Ella as her ‘wife’.

While making a cookery video from their kitchen, GK teased, “Welcome to another episode of cooking for my wife, because I’m a WAG. When she gets back from football she’s a vicious hungry beast.”

Adding even more fuel to the fire, GK captioned the video, “The WAG series continues.”

Many fans were quick to assume this meant the pair had tied the knot, though GK later backtracked and denied they’d walked down the aisle.

She admitted that she was worried her family might assume she had without their knowledge, causing a rift between them, I don’t f**k with rifts,” she later said. 

PARENTAL APPROVAL 

GK officially came out as bisexual in 2023 and in last night’s episode of I’m A Celeb she spoke candidly about introducing Ella to her mum Loretta and stepdad Andrew. 

Speaking of meeting Ella, she confessed she’d kept the romantic part of it all hidden from them. “I’d never told my parents,” she said. “I’d mentioned, ‘Oh I’m just going to see my friend Ella’ or ‘I’m staying round Ella’s’ so they’d heard her name.” 

It was only when Loretta and Andrew came to her house when Ella was there that GK came clean about their budding romance – and now her parents are thrilled with their relationship. 

GK gushed,  “They just love her, they never had an issue with it. They’ve always said whoever you end up with we do not care, boy or girl we don’t care, as long as they’re not a d*ck.” 

VAGINA BLUNDER 

While GK is funny and candid about herself, she’s only recently started teasing Ella with intimate and sometimes embarrassing tales about their romance.

One such anecdote came after a night in the pub, when GK made a mortifying blunder in front of Ella’s family.

Speaking on TikTok she told her fans, “I’ve just woken up from going to the local pub. First thing that I remembered upon opening my eyes is that I said, in front of Eyelashes’ family, that she had a designer vagina.” GK later joked that the stress of the faux pas had brought on a new zit.

Judi James believes the banter and ability to gently mock one another in public is a good sign.

“They seem keen to keep it all rather light, with the playfulness and pranks,” she explains. “This gives the impression of mutual crushes on each other.”