GK Barry’s name is actually fake – here’s the relatable reason she changed it

GK Barry has been an instant hit on I’m A Celeb, but for all her iconic moments and the time I’ve spent watching her on TikTok, I was shocked to learn that she works under an alias and her surname isn’t even Barry!

Because Ant and Dec refer to her as GK Barry and the moniker is even printed on the back of her shirt, myself and many viewers took that as her given name, or at least a nickname she uses more than her given one. As it turns out, it’s completely fabricated.

Why is GK Barry calling herself GK Barry when her name is Grace? #ImACeleb

— I Don't Know Her (@I_Dont_Know_Her) November 17, 2024

So, what’s GK Barry’s actual name?

In reality, GK Barry’s full name is Grace Eleanor Keeling, with the “GK” element of the alias standing for her first and last name. She earlier joked that it was to dissuade any potential lawsuits from reaching her.

“Is your surname actually Barry?” Radio DJ Tatum McGreal asked GK Barry in the summer, with her replying, “No it’s my best mate’s name. I’m a fake Barry. I’m a fake Barry. I know, all my f***king contracts are to Grace Barry and I thought if you guys ever try and sue me it’s not my name.”

Not them saying “GK Barry” as if it’s her first name #imaceleb pic.twitter.com/NuAeYNlfgR

— ★ ANASTAZIA ★ (@__Anastazia__) November 17, 2024

So where the hell does Barry come from? The Barry name we have come to love is actually stolen from her bestie Tatiana Barry.

“I was like, ‘Let me think of a name that no one will ever know’,” she told Heat earlier this year. “So my best friend is called Tatiana Barry and my initials are GK. We’re basically lovers anyway, so I was like, ‘Let’s just merge our names together!'”

But why did she change it?

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GK Barry actually changed her name so that people from her school wouldn’t recognise her TikTok account. I’m sorry to say that with 3.8 million followers, a stint on I’m A Celeb, and *that* interview with Bonnie Blue, the cat is officially out of the bag.

That’s to say nothing of her eye-watering net worth of at least £1,000,000, so perhaps she changed her name not out of shame of having a TikTok account, but as protection from school friends wanting a chunky handout.

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Featured Image credit: ITV