I’m A Celebrity and N-Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos revealed she hasn’t been known by her real name as she opened up on the meaning of ‘Tulisa’
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here star, Tulisa Contostavlos has revealed fans have been calling her the wrong name all this time.
The singer, 36, rose to fame as part of N-Dubz and has confessed the name she goes by isn’t actually her real name. Instead, the artist known as Tulisa revealed her name is actually Tula.
Speaking to Olivia Attwood, the former X Factor judge confessed she has been going by a different name during her life in the limelight. “No, it isn’t. You’re the first person to bring that up ever. I love that. Fresh energy!,” she said after Olivia asked about her real name.
The former Love Island star then asked if it is Tula and the singer said in a Greek accent: “Tula. My grandmother is also called Tula, so I was named after her. So ‘Tulisa’ means ‘tiny Tula’ in Greek, because I’m half Greek. Then if you pronounce Tulisa in British, it’s ‘Tu-lisaa’.” Olivia went on to joke that British people “butcher” the name, with Tulisa agreeing to her response. “Yeah, so that ended up being my nickname anyway growing up in Greek.”
Tulisa is currently trying to win the crown in the I’m A Celeb jungle. Shortly before arriving Down Under for her stint in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! the star opened up about an agonising health battle that completely transformed her appearance. Hitting back at the trolls, TV presenter and pal of Tulisa, Rylan Clark, said on Twitter/X: “Also, before people start going for appearance, Tulisa has been through a lot health-wise the last few years, so let’s not make s*** jokes about her on Twitter, yeah x.”
Speaking to Olivia on her podcast, she spoke openly about her struggles with Bell’s Palsy. The condition left her with swelling, and difficulties moving her face. She explained: “When I was about 24, I had my first Bell’s Palsy attack. So I sat at home, and I had a massive burst of inflammation, and it went down, but my whole face dropped – eye, everything. I couldn’t move it; my face remained like that for seven months; I didn’t go out; I just hid in the house.”
As she pointed to her face, Tulisa went on : “As I was coming to the end of the seven months, my face was still not right… I would go and get fillers to try and balance out the symmetry. So I’d be like right, if you put some in that cheek to match the swelling on that cheek and then if you put some here to lift this up so my lip isn’t down there. You can imagine the vicious cycle.” Tulisa has since had the filler removed, and claims she now just has filler in her lip.
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