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When social media influencers get their first big pay cheque, it’s usually spent on a lavish holiday, a designer handbag or a shiny new car. But not Trewley Precious.
Known online as the ‘ultimate Gypsy influencer’, when the 26-year-old from Clacton-on-Sea landed her first big payout, she did something far less predictable: she gave it to those living on her council estate to pay for food, without keeping a penny for herself.
‘When you come from the gutter, anything is a bonus,’ she tells me as we sit down for our interview.
Trewley is one of the most refreshingly unfiltered and honest influencers I have ever met.
‘Even though some brands won’t work with me because I’m a Gypsy, I got a brand deal and a bit of money, and I fed the estate,’ she tells me. ‘And I will do that again and again.
‘My dream deal is with Poundland. I need to work with brands that both me and my audience shop from. I want Aldi, not Marks & Spencer,’ says the star of the new show, The Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives. I have seen it, out now on Channel 4, and it is brilliant. Fly on the wall cameras have followed Trewley and her family around in what she describes as: ‘Like the Kardashians if they were broke... fat and on benefits!’
The influencer has lived her entire life on the Percy King estate in Clacton-on-Sea, in a pink house on the corner. Her nine sisters, three brothers and 13 nieces and nephews all live just a few steps away.
Trewley Precious, star of the new TV series Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives, says she is proud of where she comes from – the Percy King estate in Clacton-on-Sea – and would never move
The estate was once described as ‘worse than prison’ in 2008 by the Colchester Gazette, but Trewley could not feel more differently.
‘I love it here. It’s my home,’ she says. ‘I am so proud of where I come from. It’s made me who I am.
‘My dream is to buy the estate and help everyone here and call it Precious Road. I wouldn’t ever move off it or away.
‘There’s drugs, prostitution, abuse and a [police] helicopter above it once a week. I’d want to change all that. If I could save all the children now, definitely.’
Trewley began posting online at 17, having grown up watching social media stars including makeup artist Jeffree Star and YouTuber Shane Dawson.
She now has nearly one million followers on TikTok, sharing the realities of her everyday life and offering an unfiltered glimpse into a world many of her fans would otherwise never see.
But becoming an influencer was never the obvious path for a girl growing up in her community.
‘I literally used to look at them [other influencers] and think, “I’m just gonna do that,”’ she says.
‘I knew it. That sounds weird, but I was like, “Oh, I’m gonna have this one day.”
‘But I was really scared, because in our communities, women are seen and not heard. We’re supposed to be mothers and housewives.’
Trewley was born to an English Gypsy father and a ‘gorger’ mother – meaning a non-Gypsy – who were together for 40 years.
Her father, Sidney, passed away three years ago, something she says she still struggles with every day.
Her mum, Tina, has now begun joining her on some of her adventures and at events, and Trewley is determined to give Tina the opportunities she never got to enjoy.
‘I wanna save my mum – and I will. I don’t know how, but I will,’ she says.
Trewley began posting online at 17, having grown up watching social media stars such as makeup artist Jeffree Star. She now has nearly one million followers on TikTok
She recalls growing up without things most of us take for granted.
‘Going to school with no uniform, you look so stupid. Absolutely horrific clothes, terrible shoes that didn’t fit you. You just stood out like a sore thumb. You look like a tramp.
‘Every penny has to be looked after, because you never know what’s around the corner.
‘We’ve got very strict rules, and my mum didn’t leave the house like that. She hasn’t had the opportunity to go to things. Her being able to live a bit of life through me has been perfect.’
Unlike some influencers I come across on social media and at events, Trewley makes no attempt to filter herself or make her life look perfect online.
She walks everywhere barefoot – something confirmed when I meet her in Clacton – posts videos without makeup, pops to the corner shop for baked beans in her dressing gown and openly talks about everything from her inner thighs chafing to the realities of growing up without very much.
‘I’m 100 per cent authentically me, and some people don’t like it,’ she says.
‘At the end of the day, I have to be true to me to be true to others. I can’t act in a certain way. That’s false.’
For Trewley, her influencer life and estate life may seem like two completely different worlds, but she refuses to hide either side of herself.
‘They are completely different realms. I know how to fight, I know how to weigh drugs – things that aren’t really normal.
‘I’m not just a travelling girl. I’m a council estate girl. I’m a chubby girl. I’m a glam girl. I want to represent girls that don’t have that representation.
For Trewley, her influencer life and estate life may seem like two completely different worlds, but she refuses to hide either side of herself, observes Molly Clayton
‘I want girls from deprived areas to be like, “Oh wow, I don’t have to sell drugs to get out of it. I don’t have to live a certain way.”
‘My breakfast is 69p from the shop. My tin of beans. That’s who I am. I ain’t like these other girls on social media saying, “Oh my God, come with me to M&S and get a lobster roll.”’
Throughout our conversation, Trewley mentions ‘rules’ that govern life in her community several times, so I ask her to elaborate.
‘Gypsies have very strict rules. I’m not allowed piercings. I’m not allowed tattoos. I’m not allowed boyfriends without permission. The girls and boys have separate bathrooms. Boys are downstairs, girls are upstairs. I’m not allowed to drive,’ she explains.
‘I live in my chalet [a mobile bungalow]. I still have to have permission about who I can have in my chalet. There’s just loads of little things that I’m not even aware that they’re rules until my mum tells me they are.
‘I’m 26 and I have a curfew.’
I ask her about the Fury family, who have helped bring aspects of Gypsy culture into mainstream media and what she thought about Venezuela Fury, daughter of boxer Tyson, marrying aged 16 in May.
‘I feel like Venezuela Fury getting married young, that was a big deal to you [the general public],’ she says. ‘Because people that aren’t from our culture will go, “She’s young. She’s a child bride”. Whereas, in our community, that wasn’t rare to us.
‘The Fury family have done amazingly. They’ve built an amazing empire. But I haven’t got a famous father. I haven’t got multi-million-pound assets. This is blood, sweat and tears. This is everything I have.
‘This is real life. This is real for me. I don’t want to represent Tyson. I want to represent the people watching Tyson.’
I ask if she would like a family of her own one day, particularly as pressure to settle down can mount quickly within her community.
‘Of course, but not yet. I just feel like so much has happened to me in the last few years. My dad passing and me trying to find a career.
‘I feel like in the Travelling community people see it as a bit odd. A big tradition is you get married young. But I don’t want to be a struggling mum. I want to be a happy mum. I want to be a loving mum. I want to be a present mum.
‘So one day the time will be right.’
For now, Trewley is determined to keep building her life on her own terms – without abandoning the community that made her.
‘You either settle down, stay on that estate and slowly die or go to prison,’ she says. ‘I don’t want that for me. I want so much more.’
Aitch's extraordinary climb
The rapper Aitch is set to take fans behind the scenes of his charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro with a new Netflix documentary titled: Aitch: Don’t Be Afraid.
The film premieres exclusively on the streaming platform on July 26. It documents the Manchester artist’s multi-day ascent of Africa’s highest mountain, which he undertook in January 2025 alongside close friends, family and members of his team.
Rapper Aitch, pictured with his little sister, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the Down’s Syndrome Association
The climb was organised to raise vital funds and awareness for the Down’s Syndrome Association, with Aitch serving as an ambassador for the charity. The cause is particularly close to the rapper’s heart, having been inspired by his younger sister, Gracie who has Down’s.
What began as a daunting physical challenge ultimately became a huge fundraising success. Aitch and his team raised more than £160,000 for the charity, doubling their original target.
Dua's sister is an ASOS 'It Girl'
Rina Lipa is fast becoming one of the most in-demand names in the influencer world – and it seems there is no slowing her down.
The younger sister of pop superstar Dua Lipa has just landed a major new role as ASOS’ Style Director, a position which will see her helping customers navigate their everyday style dilemmas.
It’s the latest in a string of impressive career moves for the rising star, who I’ve spotted at countless fashion events and is now regularly seen alongside the likes of Lila Moss, the Beckham siblings and influencer Olivia Neill.
With 963,000 Instagram followers, Rina’s social media is a glossy mix of jet-setting trips and modelling campaigns, with brands including Miu Miu, Burberry and Tory Burch already getting in on the action.
Dua Lipa's sister, Rina, has landed a major new role as ASOS’s Style Director and is signed to ITG Talent
The ‘It Girl’, who was also featured in British Vogue last week, is now signed to ITG Talent and is quietly building an acting career, too.
Earlier this year she starred in her own short film, Weight of Ribbons, while another project, The End of Love, appears to have flown somewhat under the radar this year. I can also reveal she will star in Expectations, a contemporary film based on Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, and has landed a role in an upcoming horror film directed by Italian filmmaker Gianluigi Carella.
Watch this space.
UP
British track star, Keely Hodgkinson, who has turned a childhood dream into reality with the launch of her very own Nike running footwear and apparel collection is on the up.
A Nike athlete since 2019 and one of the fastest women in history over 800 metres, Keely is proving that hard work pays off. ‘Having my own Nike collection is a dream come true,’ she says. And I couldn’t agree more. It is brilliant to see women in sport celebrated on this scale – and hopefully inspiring the next generation to dream big too.
DOWN
My 'down' of the week has to be Kylie Jenner, who has faced intense backlash after becoming the latest celebrity face of Meta’s AI-powered Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Kylie Jenner has faced huge public backlash after becoming the face of Meta’s AI-powered Ray-Ban smart glasses – including from singer Lorde
The fashion-forward tech allows wearers to take photos and record video and audio hands-free, but the public response has been far less than glowing, with critics raising concerns over privacy and the potential for covert surveillance.
Many questioned why Kylie would lend her name to the campaign. Even Lorde took aim at the glasses during a recent Madrid gig, telling the crowd: ‘F*** the glasses.’ Iconic.
Did Vogue accidentally hard-launch influencer Olivia Jade and tennis player Taylor Fritz’s new romance?
The American tennis star recently split from longtime influencer girlfriend Morgan Riddle, once dubbed the most powerful woman in tennis, and speculation is already swirling that he may have moved on with Olivia, Jacob Elordi’s ex-girlfriend.
Taylor Fritz and Olivia Jade were spotted looking rather comfortable together last weekend in the background of a Vogue wedding shoot
The rumours really kicked off after fellow tennis player Tommy Paul and influencer Paige Lorenze tied the knot last weekend. In their Vogue wedding shoot, two guests appear to be standing rather close together – and they look suspiciously like Olivia and Taylor. Coincidence? I think not.
I’ve seen everyone who is anyone heading to Manna Burgers lately, so naturally, I had to see what all the fuss was about – and let me tell you, it absolutely lives up to the hype.
After opening a branch in Dubai last year, the cult smash burger joint – known for flattening its patties before frying – now has three outlets in London.
Serving up juicy burgers, crispy waffle fries and moreish chicken tenders, it’s fast food done properly. Whether you’re after a post-night-out feast or simply fancy treating yourself, Manna Burgers needs to be on your list.
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