I’M A Celeb star Tulisa Contostavlos has opened up about her past relationship with NDubz bandmate Fazer, calling him her “safe space” who she still loves “to this day”.
Fazer, real name Richard Rawson, completed NDubz alongside Tulisa and her cousin Dappy.
Together, the trio shot to fame in the late 2000s with songs including Playing With Fire, Number 1 and I Need You.
During their time in the band, Tulisa and Fazer were in a relationship, and speaking to Paul C Brunson on his ‘We Need To Talk’ podcast, Tulisa explained it proved a lifeline for her as she adapted to the stressors of fame.
“My safe space was Fazer, like my safety blanket,” she said. “He was the person that loved me, he was the only person that deserved it, because that is real. That’s real to this day.
“We love each other like family. It doesn’t matter if it’s not romantic anymore.
“That’s my family, that’s my soul family and the person that I’ve become doesn’t want anyone in my life other than my soul family, especially not when it comes to intimacy.
“He’s the only person, looking back, that means something now.”
When quizzed about why their relationship didn’t work out, Tulisa simply declared the pair were “incompatible” and the split in 2012 was “inevitable”.
But regardless considers there’s still “a lot of love there”.
“You have two people that are so close, they’re like family close, they’re like friendship close and they have an attraction there and they’re constantly around each other. They can’t get away from each other,” she explained.
“It’s inevitable, so we just had to go through it to grow through it. But after being in a relationship we’re very different human beings, very, very different, and that’s really what it comes down to.”
During the eye-opening and honest chat, Tulisa also opens up about her roots in Camden, including her experience with sexual assault, and coming out on I’m A Celebrity as demisexual – which requires an intense emotional connection with someone in order to feel a sexual one.
After her time in NDubz, Tulisa went on to appear as a judge on X Factor in 2011, and was responsible for the formation of Little Mix during her time on the show.
However, after leaving X Factor in 2012 and releasing her own album The Female Boss, she removed herself from the limelight, with Tulisa now admitting she struggled with the media intrusion into her life.
This year, Tulisa made her comeback on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here to the delight of fans, but became the third star to exit in a shock elimination.
Rather than remain in Australia for the final, Tulisa decided to head home to the UK, stripping any sign of the show from her Instagram.
She later said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the series and was left hyperventilating in her hotel room.
