Who is GK Barry: Everything We Know About the I'm a Celeb Star

Grace Keeling, better known as GK Barry, became a viral sensation thanks to her hilariously relatable content and down-to-earth personality. 

The internet personality, influencer and presenter is set to join I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here as part of the star-studded 2024 line up, so we wanted to dig into everything there is to know about the social media star and Pretty Little Thing Ambassador. 

Who is GK Barry?

• How Old is GK Barry?
• Who is GK Barry Dating?

She is known online as GK Barry, but was born Grace Keeling, and rose to fame during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she made TikTok videos about her daily life as a student at Nottingham Trent University and gained a million followers in a year.

She hosts a podcast called Saving Grace, and boasts over 3.6 million followers on TikTok, as well as over 60,000 subscribers on YouTube and nearly a million followers on Instagram.

GK Barry has appeared on numerous programmes, including becoming the youngest ever Loose Women panellist. 

She’s made no secret of wanting to grow her profile, telling OK! of her ambitions to be the female Alan Carr with her own chat show - something taking part in I’m a Celeb can definitely help with. 

In early 2024 she took her podcast on a second sell-out tour around the UK. 

Whilst studying for her degree, she worked on the set of BBC soap Doctors, and also created video content for ShawMind and Nottinghamshire Police. She also helped the Nottingham Women’s Centre to rebrand their business whilst studying for her masters degree in digital marketing.

She chose the TikTok name @GKBarry as it was based on her initials - Grace Keeling - and borrowed the last name Barry from a friend, to avoid her real identity becoming public.

As well as I’m a Celebrity, GK Barry has also appeared on ITV2 CelebAbility, and The Wheel and The Weakest Link on BBC One, amongst other TV appearances.

She is also a Pretty Little Thing ambassador. 

How Old is GK Barry?

GK Barry was born on 12th August 1999, making her 25 years old. She was born in Cambridge in the UK, but lived in the British Virgin Islands from the age of two until eight, where she returned to England. 

She completed a film studies degree and a masters degree in digital marketing at Nottingham Trent University during the pandemic. 

Who is GK Barry Dating?

In recent years, GK Barry has become more open about her relationships and love life, sparking more curiosity from her fans. 

She is in a relationship with footballer Ella Rutherford, and has been open with her fans about how it’s her first relationship with a woman, but she doesn’t see herself going back to men now. 

The couple first met through Instagram, with GK Barry telling former Love Island star Anna Vakili on TikTok: "I saw her Instagram and I thought 'hello!'".

She was reluctant to reveal her girlfriend’s identity at first, calling her by the codename ‘eyelashes’ on her podcast, but spoke glowingly about their relationship, saying: “I'm in love. And yeah, it has been three weeks, but that's fine. That's absolutely fine. She came to me like a dream, and I was obsessed.

“I feel like I've been missing out. I feel like I went very wrong with men. I don't like men anymore. I will never go back to a man. God forbid. Yeah, I just love it. I just love it.

“I feel like I've got spring in my step. I feel like I'm glowing. It's the lesbian glow. I've got it. And yeah, that's my life update.”

There’s been lots of speculation that GK Barry had secretly married girlfriend Ella Rutherford, as she frequently refers to herself as a ‘full time WAG [wife and girlfriend]’ and as ‘wifed up’, but she later took to her social accounts to deny the rumours and confirm that is just how she refers to her girlfriend!

Due to her popularity with younger audiences, she’s sure to bring a fresh audience to I’m a Celeb, and we can’t wait to see how she gets on with her fellow camp-mates, including Love Island’s Maura Higgins.