‘Big Brother’ Star ‘Nearly Died’ After Taking Fake Ozempic

Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace “nearly died” after taking black market Ozempic. The Big Brother UK alum, 46, opened up about her terrifying experience at “death’s door” in an interview with Closer magazine published Tuesday, Jan. 21.

The Season 7 competitor says she was in a “dark place” last year after the death of her best friend, gaining about 28 lbs. as she mourned the loss. As she struggled with her weight and body image, Horgan-Wallace said she turned to the “black market” to purchase the type 2 diabetes drug used by many for weight loss.

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“I won’t lie, and I’m not proud, but I bought Ozempic injections from the black market,” Horgan-Wallace told the outlet. “I must have had a dodgy batch because my body reacted so badly.”

The injectable medication, known generically as semaglutide, became so popular for weight loss last year that there ended up being a nationwide drug shortage before pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk was able to increase production. During that shortage, counterfeit and compounded versions of the medications skyrocketed in popularity, with many causing health problems for the people who injected them.

Horgan-Wallace was one of the people to suffer adverse effects. “For three days, I thought I was going to die,” she said. “I was in my bed, waking up vomiting, suffering with diarrhea and falling asleep again. At one point, I had three bags of vomit by my bedside. Frighteningly, I started losing my vision, my eyes were going blurry, and I couldn’t even see my phone. I had no idea what was going to happen to me.”

Despite her worrying symptoms, Horgan-Wallace didn’t seek medical attention. “There was a point without doubt where I thought I was going to die because I couldn’t even function,” she explained. “I wanted to go A&E [the emergency department], but I couldn’t drag myself there because I was too embarrassed to say what I’d done. I felt guilt over wasting NHS resources when I’d done this to myself.”

Now, the reality personality is warning others who might seek out the same counterfeit drugs. “My message is do not do it,” she said. “I nearly died because of that s—. Your life is not worth losing over losing weight. Don’t cut corners with your health, and don’t buy stuff off the black market because you don’t know what’s in it.” She continued, “It’s the most horrific health issue I’ve ever been through, and I will never do it again.”