MADE in Chelsea beauty Olivia Bentley has men falling at her feet – but it wasn’t always that way.
As a teenager, Olivia feared she would never find love after losing her hair at just 16 years old.
With her confidence at rock bottom, the reality TV star was left ridden with anxiety that her alopecia meant she was “ugly”.
Over the past ten years she’s learnt to use humour as a coping mechanism and has grown to feel more comfortable in her own skin.
So comfortable, in fact, that she’s no stranger to stripping off for a topless snap on Instagram – and has even signed up to Celebs Go Dating.
But behind the bravado, Olivia insists she’s still painfully shy and can’t stop worrying about her wig “flying off in the wind”.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun Online, Olivia said: “When the wind blows and there’s no hair on the back of my head I always think what the hell do people think is going on.
“And when I’m kissing a bloke and he puts my hand down the back of my head, I always wonder what the f*** do they think that is.
“I’ve noticed watching Celebs Go Dating back that I have sunglasses on top of my head all the time and people comment on that saying it’s really weird.
“But it’s only because when it’s really windy I’m worried the wig will f***ing fly off. I’m using the sunglasses to hold it down.”
Aside from dodging embarrassing moments like these, Olivia says she’s always honest with her dates about wearing a wig.
Last week on Celebs Go Dating she opened up to Dom about the condition.
“The agents wanted me to speak about something more personal because I joke around a lot and that’s one thing that isn’t so much of a joke to me,” said Olivia.
“I think it’s so obvious that I wear a wig, but people are always surprised.
“If I know I’m going to kiss someone then I’ll tell them before that I’m wearing one.
“If I’m seeing someone I’ll take it off at night, but they’re so unfazed by it.
“It was only when I was younger that people were weirder about it.
“When I first got alopecia, it stressed me out beyond belief. I thought, no one is going to want to date me, I’m so ugly, I’m so un-girly’.
“For a long time I felt ugly because I didn’t have the thick long hair that everyone else had.”
The 26-year-old is speaking out about her alopecia to help sufferers cope with their diagnosis better than she did.
“I want young girls to see me and think it’s so normal,” said Olivia.
“Just because you don’t have hair doesn’t mean you’re not attractive.
“I think it’s because it’s more common now. A lot more people have it than you think I guess.”
Celebs Go Dating is the first show Olivia has signed up to outside of Made in Chelsea.
She says it’s helped show off her more vulnerable side.
Olivia said: “People now know I don’t have a heart of stone because Made in Chelsea isn’t just about dating, it shows arguments with friends.
“It’s cringe as hell to watch myself back – especially when I’m kissing someone.”
She’s recently been linked to Joshua Ritchie and Pete Wicks – but has firmly denied dating either of them.
“Every day I’m seen with a different bloke, people must think all sorts. It’s like I’m ploughing through them!
“But no, there’s absolutely nothing between me and Pete Wicks, Joshua or Lockie.
“Pete is such a nice guy, I only met him recently through Celebs Go Dating. But no, there’s nothing.
“When you’re on TV people think they know everything about you, but they don’t.”
Viewers will find out next week if Olivia finds love on Celebs Go Dating as the series finale airs.
Asked if she believes you can find The One on TV, she said: “You can. Everyone thinks that TV makes or breaks relationship but if anything it highlights issues that you would have eventually found out about further down the line. It’s a good thing.”
- Celebs Go Dating airs at 9pm on E4.