GLAMOUR girl Jodie Marsh stunned fans with a muscular new look - but claims her rippling physique has got fellas fighting over her.
Jodie was famous for flaunting her body in tiny outfits but has admitted she was secretly dismayed at her "flabby" appearance — and even went two years without sleeping with a man.
But after a gruelling two-month regime of weights and dieting, which culminated in her competing in a bodybuilding contest last weekend, Jodie believes men have never lusted after her more.
Jodie, 32, said: "I have never attracted so much interest from blokes in my life.
"It's been a real eye-opener. For the last two years I went through a complete drought of men.
"No one was chatting me up. I despaired of ever having a boyfriend, or even a date, again.
"But since I became a bodybuilder I've suddenly got about 50 guys interested in me."
It's a far cry from the time Jodie was so desperate she took part in a TV show to find her a husband called Totally Jodie Marsh.
She eventually chose an ex of Jordan's, Matt Peacock. They wed in September 2007 but with grim inevitability split in December 2007.
Glamour girl ... Jodie looking bustier than ever in '08 after a boob job, left, and toned holding her bodybuilding trophy, right
Jodie has also been linked to Westlife's Kian Egan, Fran Cosgrave and Calum Best but she has now found happiness through bodybuilding.
Responding to critics who claim her extreme new look makes her look manly, Jodie said: "I don't give a s*** what they say. I feel sexier than I have for ten years.
"I don't think I look like a man. I'm only 5ft 2in and in normal clothes I just look well toned.
"There were times in the past when I hated the way I looked.
"I once went on The Jeremy Kyle Show because I had become suicidal. I had such low self-esteem.
"When I look back at some of the photos of me in my 'heyday' they make me feel physically sick.
"I look flabby, fat and full of cellulite. I used to loathe my body but now I absolutely adore it."
Jodie first took up weightlifting two years ago but two months ago she started intensive training for the bodybuilding contest which saw her drop from a size 12 to a size six and lose 20lb of fat.
Making a name for herself ... curvy Jodie Marsh strips for the cameras in 2003 after finding fame on ITV show Essex Wives
She achieved the change by spending EIGHT hours a day in the gym and by eating FIFTEEN egg whites daily, washed down with protein shakes.
Jodie, from Brentwood, Essex, admitted: "At times I felt like I was dying. There were moments when I broke down, crying, feeling I couldn't go on. I got so weak that one day I couldn't even carry my own bag out of the gym.
"But I was determined to do it. I did in eight weeks what it takes a bodybuilder nine months to do.
"I had to strip my body fat from 25 per cent to ten. Judges want to see complete muscle definition.
"To do that I went on an extreme diet. Bodybuilders prepare for a contest by going on protein-only diets and eating chicken and fish.
"But I'm a vegetarian so all I could have was egg whites and protein shakes. In the morning I'd have seven scrambled egg whites along with a cup of green tea.
"Two hours later I'd have a protein shake. Then a few hours later more egg whites, followed by shakes, water and black tea.
"I wasn't allowed fruit or vegetables and definitely no fats so no dairy. At times I felt so weak I couldn't string a sentence together."
During her extreme dieting phase, Jodie was also having to undertake a brutal daily workout.
She revealed: "I was getting up at 7am and heading to the gym. It was three hours of cardio, two hours of weights, an hour of abs and three hours of posing practice.
Sculpted ... Jodie Marsh posing at the bodybuilding contest in Sheffield
"For the contest you have to do a routine which involves holding eight poses which show off your muscles.
"They are very difficult to do and hold — your muscles are screaming.
"It was literally seven days a week. I would get home at 9pm then have to take my four dogs for a walk before crawling into bed."
Jodie, who was training for last weekend's Natural Physique Association (NPA) Mike Williams Classic and Pro-Am Bodybuilding Championships in Sheffield, admits her diet was dangerous.
She said: "My face became gaunt and my parents said, 'You've got to stop this, you look ill'. I'd never recommend what I did to anyone else. I did it this once but I'd never do it again like that."
Her savage training programme has also made her breast implants appear far more eye-catching.
But Jodie said: "My bust has actually gone from 32GG to 34C.
"I've lost all the fat off my bust so the implants I had years ago are now very prominent."
Some people claim Jodie's new look would not be possible without the help of steroids or other drugs.
But she explained: "Before the contest we had to take a polygraph and drug tests to prove we had not taken any banned substances.
"I got my body through bloody hard work and nothing else."
Definition ... Jodie Marsh on her way to fifth place in bodybuilding competition
Jodie's battle to get in shape for the contest was filmed for a reality show for satellite channel DMAX UK called Jodie Marsh Bodybuilder, to be aired in January.
Her determination paid off when she was placed fifth in the competition. Jodie said: "I was absolutely thrilled. To get that placing when I have never competed before is unheard of."
For the contest, Jodie had to slap on special dark fake tan used by bodybuilders — so dark that some critics claim she looked like she had been dipped in creosote.
Jodie said: "I know in normal light I looked ridiculous but on stage the lights are so bright they bleach your muscle definition out.
"You need the tan to make the muscles stand out. On the day I had to have four or five coats of the stuff."
Jodie also needed the fake tan to be deep so it covered up her 100 tattoos. She revealed: "You get marked down for having tattoos. The judges think it affects the look of muscle definition."
Ripped ... Jodie Marsh flexes her muscles
After her success, Jodie is determined to carry on competing and has her sights on the World Championships in the US next May.
She said: "I first went to the gym when I was 29, feeling fat.
"I only meant to do the treadmill and the exercise bike but I met Tim Sharp — a five-time Mr Britain finalist — and he got me into bodybuilding. I loved the way it made my body look so toned so quickly.
"I also got hooked on the buzz bodybuilding gives you. Through Tim I have now found a whole new career and a new lease of life.
"Before taking up bodybuilding I was feeling depressed and suicidal.
"Now I have a new life ahead of me. I have a great new body and I feel at peace with myself."
Jodie hopes her new look and new show will inspire people to take up a healthier lifestyle.
She said: "Anyone who feels fat and flabby like I used to can change that. What I did for the contest was extreme and I'm not advocating that for anyone else.
"What I'm saying is try exercise, get yourself off the sofa. You don't know how much your life could change for the better."
a.lazzeri@the-sun.co.uk