ThisisBigBrother.com - UK TV Forums - It's the first time I've seen Nicola without make-up!

Quote:

It's the first time I've seen Nicola without make-up!

She was billed as the high maintenance glamour model who would spend all her time in the jungle fluttering her eyelashes and fretting about her fingernails.

So when Nicola McLean showed her ballsy personality by scoffing kangaroo testicles, crocodile eyes and crickets in a bushtucker trial, viewers were amazed.

But not her footballer fiance Tom Williams. He knew she would tackle the challenge without a fuss.

No, what has astounded Tom is that it's the first time he's seen Nicola without her slap on in the four-and-a-half years they have been together.

"I knew she'd do it, no problem," says Tom, in an exclusive interview with the Mirror. "Nic's a fighter.

There's more to her than people give her credit for.

"I think people expected her to spend the whole time posing and pouting.

"But that's not the real Nic. She will give 100 per cent to whatever she puts her mind to - including eating kangaroo testicles.

"Me and my mates were cheering her on when she put it in her mouth, but we all flinched when it went, 'Pop!' I don't know if I could have done it... "She'd better have brushed her teeth before I next give her a kiss."

However, the Peterborough United player admits he has seen a different side to his busty partner since she's been in the jungle.

For the first time in their relationship, 25-year-old Nicola - who admits to sleeping in her mascara and lipgloss - has let her face go au naturale.

Tom, 28, says: "She's always got make-up on - I've never seen her without it. I can't get over how stunning she looks in the jungle.

"She's gorgeous. Her figure looks amazing as well.

I'm really proud of her.

"She was extremely nervous before she went out there, but I knew she would be strong.

"Nic's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in either. I know there's been a bit of a debate over Robert Kilroy-Si lk possibly bullying Carly Zucker.

"If Nic thought for one minute that was going on, she'd be the first person to confront Robert about his behaviour. I think people are going to really warm to her."

Even when she's asking whether there's a risk she could get pregnant after swallowing crocodile semen?

"That's just Nic having a joke," says Tom. "She's more intelligent than she lets on."

Tom and Nicola, who are due to marry next summer, have a two-and-a-half-year-old son, Rocky. "It's been nice to have some time just the two of us," Tom says. "But I've been getting a bit of help from the two nans. Rocky's seen his mummy on the telly and gets excited. We've told him she's gone to the jungle to look after the animals.

"Nic seems to be getting on well with everyone so far.

Her and Carly have become good friends - I know Carly's fiance Joe Cole from my days at West Ham."

Tom can't travel to Australia due to footballing commitments. Even though he misses Nicola, he hopes she stays in to the end.

"It broke my heart when I heard she was missing me and Rocky," he says. We're missing her, too. But she's tough, she'll get through it."

Source: Daily Mirror