Reality star Gemma Collins talks about two family deaths which have led her to postpone wedding to Rami Hawash

The reality star, who rose to fame on The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE), has been navigating a “really bad time” due to the double tragedy, which has seen her lose both her grandfather and Rami’s father just a few weeks apart.

Back in June, Hawash shared a photo of himself and his dad dressed in suits and announced his father’s death, calling him an angel. The caption of the image was a tribute to his late dad which read "I have no words. You was the BEST DAD in the world. Today heaven gained the best Angel #restinpeace."  His fiancée also remembered Hawash’s dad fondly, writing: "Lovely man Ram. I never forget how he loved to watch Mirander."

Collins, aged 43, and Hawash, age 49, became engaged for the third time in February and are now planning to get married in 2026.

The TOWIE star revealed her struggles in an interview with The Express: “It's been a really bad time because Rami's dad passed away and my grandad passed away, so none of us have really been in the mood to celebrate.

“But yeah, (the wedding) will all come together when it's meant to. But with two deaths in the family, it's just not really been at the forefront of anyone's mind.”

Collins and Hawash first met each other and fell in love 14 years ago, but their path to true love and happiness has not been without its challenges. They were on and off between 2011 and 2014, and he even made brief appearances on TOWIE. They became engaged for the first time on Christmas Day 2013, but they ended the engagement a few weeks later. They each went on to have relationships with other people, but they reunited during the coronavirus pandemic afer meeting again at a Madonna concert. They then got engaged again in 2021 and were due to get married this summer, but Collins later revealed they had decided to cancel their wedding plans and focus on other things. However, Hawash got down on one knee again during a romantic trip to the Maldives in earlier this year.

Once they do tie the knot, however, the pair are determined to walk down the aisle in not one, but three weddings.

“I think we’re actually going to have three weddings. The main one will be somewhere fabulous in the UK, the second may be abroad, and the third will be the formal one for our closest friends and family,” Collins told OK! Magazine in April.

In the same interview, she said: “Everyone keeps asking us, “When is the wedding?” but we’re not going to do it until 2025 and it’ll likely be a winter wedding. Rami turns 50 that year too, so it’ll be a huge celebration. I spoke to an astrologer and they said that is the luckiest year to get married.”