\u2018It\u2019s swelling, and it\u2019s exhaustion\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Things are getting very tense in the I\u2019m A Celeb South Africa<\/a> camp, and it turns out there\u2019s way more going on behind the scenes than people first realised.<\/p>\n Adam Thomas<\/a> has now opened up about the reality of his time in the jungle, and why his clash with David Haye<\/a> hit so hard.<\/p>\n ITV<\/p>\n<\/div>\n During one particularly uncomfortable moment, Adam admitted he wasn\u2019t feeling great and said he was \u201cdehydrated\u201d. That\u2019s when David Haye went in on him, saying: \u201cStop whining about dehydration. You ain\u2019t done sh*t since you\u2019ve been here. You\u2019re sitting up there going, \u2018I\u2019m dehydrated\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve all got the same amount of water! Adam\u2019s doing it, that\u2019s it. Not well? What\u2019s wrong with him? He\u2019s a grown ass man.\u201d<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t exactly stop there either, later calling Adam a \u201cuseless man\u201d, which t didn\u2019t land well with Ant and Dec, who said he\u2019d \u201ccrossed the line\u201d.<\/p>\n What wasn\u2019t obvious at the time is that Adam was dealing with a long-term condition that seriously impacted his time in camp. The actor has psoriatic arthritis, an autoimmune condition that causes joint pain, swelling and intense fatigue. Basically, not ideal when you\u2019re sleeping outdoors and doing jungle challenges.<\/p>\n ITV<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Explaining what it\u2019s like to live with on Instagram, Adam said it causes \u201csh*t loads of pain\u201d and that \u201cit\u2019s swelling, and it\u2019s exhaustion\u201d.<\/p>\n Looking back at his time on the show, he admitted it was tougher than it looked: \u201cLiving with arthritis is something I don\u2019t really talk about, as much as I should do\u2026but in there it really took its toll.<\/p>\n \u201cMy biggest fight was pretending to put on a brave face and trying to hide the pain. That can be exhausting within itself. There were days my body just didn\u2019t want to keep going, but I did.\u201d<\/p>\n And when it came to his fallout with David, Adam didn\u2019t hold back about how much it affected him.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I stood my ground instead of trying to keep the peace, but I\u2019ve learned that being kind doesn\u2019t mean being weak, and sometimes it takes going through tough moments to find your voice.\u201d<\/p>\n He even admitted things got so intense he thought about quitting, adding: \u201cHe broke me in there, he pushed me to my limits, and I\u2019ve told David this and he\u2019s apologised and that\u2019s that! I\u2019ve moved on now, am not one to hold a grudge.\u201d<\/p>\n ITV<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As for David Haye, he\u2019s also addressed the drama, but in a way that\u2019s, erm, pretty on brand.<\/p>\n Despite the backlash and accusations of bullying, he insisted: \u201cNo bad blood from my side,\u201d before going on to explain his perspective.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, I\u2019ve been immersed in tough boxing gyms since I was ten years old. Literally fighting daily, much bigger men than myself, pushing myself to the limits, physically and mentally.<\/p>\n \u201cI won the world heavyweight championship against a seven-foot Russiangiant. So when a grown man tells me that a fun TV show \u2013 where we\u2019re being paid handsomely every single day \u2013 is the hardest thing he\u2019s ever been through, it\u2019s just not a frequency I recognise. I was actually on my best behaviour in there, honestly.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve spoken to Adam, I\u2019ve said my piece, and some of what\u2019s still to air will speak for itself. I\u2019ll leave it there.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.thetab.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/22124136\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-12.40.21.png\")
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\u201cWatching it back hasn\u2019t been easy at all. There were moments I felt pushed to my absolute limit, and if I\u2019m honest, times I didn\u2019t even recognise myself.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.thetab.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/22124339\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-12.41.13.png\")
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