I'm A Celebrity and podcasting star GK Barry - real name Grace Keeling - has bravely shared her experience of sexual assault in the hope it will help other women21:54, 29 Aug 2026Updated 14:33, 30 Aug 2026GK Barry says she felt compelled to include a traumatic rape experience in her new life advice book, in the hope it will help others to not go through the same agony that she experienced ten years ago.The 27-year-old podcaster, whose real name is Grace Keeling, says It’s Giving Life: A Guide To Surviving And Thriving by GK Barry, is not an autobiography. But it does include deeply personal stories - including the assaults she experienced at the age of 17, while doing work experience for a media company near to her childhood home in Suffolk.Grace, who rose to fame via TikTok in 2022 and later appeared on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, admits it took her years to acknowledge what had happened to her. She decided to include the ordeal in her book after becoming aware of startling statistics that reveal almost a quarter of women have been raped or sexually assaulted from the age of 16.Posting on social media, Grace opened up to her online followers about her ordeal. She wrote: “This is the first time I’ve spoken about a chapter in my book that I’ve never shared publicly before. When I was 17 I was raped and I’ve spent the last 10 years not telling anyone out of fear."I have been extremely nervous about speaking about this and for a long time tried to push it to one side and not think about it but I hope by speaking about it it might help others to know they can too, and it wasn’t their fault.“I also hope this can help other people not be in the same situation that I was in. I’ve been speaking with an amazing charity Rape Crisis who I wish I’d known about at the time. They offer 24/7 support and advice if anyone needs it.”In the book, Grace says the first assault happened when the man who was her manager during a week of work experience offered to give her a lift in on her second day. "He was about 27 so around ten years older, attractive, tattooed and muscly, and I was impressed by him – I was flattered that he was giving me the time of day," she explains. "However, as we were driving in that morning, he kept touching my leg which was making me feel uncomfortable although I didn’t feel able to ask him to stop. There was a massive imbalance of power going on which he was 100 per cent taking advantage of, banking on the fact I wouldn’t push back."He assaulted her that day, and the rape took place on the last day of her week with the company. She writes: "At 4pm on my last day, he kicked out the two other members of staff who were there, leaving only me and him in the building. I start to panic because I feel like I know what’s about to happen but I’m powerless to stop it. He signals me towards a side room, making a point of saying there are no cameras in there and I go in because, again, there’s no ability in my body to refuse. I’m also pretty certain he’s locked the office, so I’m trapped."And then he rapes me. It’s taken me a long time – years, in fact – to realise that’s what it was. Even longer to be able to say it out loud." She now reflects: “I wish I’d known that it wasn’t my fault. I wish I’d known what to be on guard for. I’d had no idea that rape can take so many different forms and it doesn’t always look the way you expect. I think we imagine it to be a stranger attack in a dark alley, but it’s far more likely to happen between people who know each other – friends, partners, classmates or colleagues."Grace's book is published by Penguin, which includes an overview that is written by the TV and social media star. She explains in a statement: "I should probably tell you what this book isn’t. It’s not an autobiography (I’m still too fresh out the womb) or self-development guide (er, be real)."Neither does it contain a magic formula that’s going to give you the solution to surviving every plot twist life decides to throw at you. None of my ‘advice’ – and I use the term in the loosest possible sense – should be taken as gospel. Or even at all."Explaining that she is simply sharing the details of life as she has experienced it so far, she adds: "I’m laying every last bit of personal trauma out there for the greater good of humanity which basically makes me a saint and you can thank me later."** If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999Article continues belowLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .