Gaz Beadle's ex Emma McVey shares health update two years after heart surgery and colitis battle

The Irish Sun

11-06-2025

GARY Beadle's ex wife Emma McVey has given fans an update on her health - two years on from her heart surgery and colitis battle.
The mum-of-two has revealed she is no longer on any medication and has completely overhauled her diet.
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Emma McVey has given fans a health update
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The star had open heart surgery two years ago
The 32-year-old was quizzed about her health during a Q&A with fans - and explained: 'Actually on no medication anymore, I hated being on so many tablets and injections so I changed my lifestyle and diet.
'I can say it's worked for over a year now. I'll start posting more of the vitamins and supplements that I take daily, along with the foods I make that also made a huge difference.'
Emma - who split from Gaz in October 2023 - underwent open heart surgery in January of that year.
The model had no idea she'd been born with three holes in her heart until a monitor was fitted following her second pregnancy.
Read More on Emma McVey
She'd suffered years of seizures, exhaustion and fainting episodes - but while the diagnosis was illuminating, medics were cautious about operating because Emma is also battling
The condition, which affects roughly one in 420 in the UK, causes ulcers and inflammation in the digestive tract.
The steroid treatment used to treat it can lead to bone loss and breakage, which doctors warned could stop Emma's bones fusing back together.
She was originally due to have surgery in November 2021 - four months after her wedding to Gary - but it was postponed when her colitis worsened.
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Around Christmas time of 2023 her tricuspid valve - the valve between the two right chambers of the heart - further deteriorated, and the decision was made to proceed with the op in spite of the risks.
She later said of the op: 'I knew in surgery I'd be connected to a heart machine that would be keeping me alive while my heart was stopped, and I kept thinking, 'They're not going to be able to start my heart again'.
Emma McVey on Colitis
'I thought, 'I'm going to get put to sleep and I'm not coming back out'.'
Emma - who shares Chester and Primrose with Gaz - is now in a new relationship with new partner James, who she has been with for over a year.
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Emma with her two children and new partner James
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She was previously married to Gaz Beadle
Credit: Instagram
What is Ulcerative Colitis?
Here's what you need to know about Ulcerative Colitis..
Colitis is a condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed.
The colon is the large intestine, or bowel, and the rectum is the end of the bowel where stools are stored. Ulcers can develop on the colon's lining and bleed and produce pus.
Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis that is caused by autoimmune inflammation (the body attacking itself), whereas colitis can be caused by a number of factors including infection.
Ulcerative colitis is similar to another condition which causes inflammation of the gut - Crohn's disease.
Symptoms can often be very mild for weeks or months but flare ups with extreme symptoms can cause a lot of pain and trouble for sufferers.
Find out