'I have been losing my mind.' Everyone who has ever quit I'm A Celebrity, and the story behind it.

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! is bringing the drama this season. We're only a week in and we've already had one contestant quit – Kerri-Anne Kennerley. 

In the days leading up to her exit, Kennerley had refused to take part in two trials in a row. To be fair, one of the challenges involved eating animal testicles...

But after an argument with former MAFS contestant Domenica Calarco, Kennerley decided to quit. Although viewers at home didn't get to see the exact moment she decided to leave the show, we did see her final goodbye. And it was awkward viewing to say the least.

She returned to camp ahead of the three contestants she had done the testicle-eating trial with and said she had to make "a hard choice". And that hard choice was to get the hell out of the jungle.

"It was a hard choice because I'd love to stay – but it's never going to work. This just morphed into something that it shouldn't have been."

Watch the argument between Dom and Kerri-Anne. Post continues below.

Just when this season was about to go to air, Ten's head of entertainment said to news.com.au that it is a "massive disappointment" when a contestant quits the show. 

"In the early days we thought, 'Oh, great drama, it'll be fantastic to have a walkout.' No: the audience don't like it. The Australian audience don't like quitters," he said.

"Obviously we are never going to push somebody to the point where it's damaging for their mental health… but walking out can be damaging too. So we need to make sure they're absolutely sure before they do it."

Kennerley is only the fifth of the 100-plus contestants in I'm A Celebrity AU's history to quit. Here's a look back at those iconic exit moments and the story behind each.

Tennis player Bernard Tomic.

Image: Channel 10.

Bernard Tomic likely had the shortest stint on I'm A Celeb.

It was back in 2018 when Tomic was in the jungle and decided to quit a few days in. It was the first time a celebrity had quit the Aussie show format. 

Co-host Julia Morris said Tomic was "a quitter", and Dr Chris Brown said: "It came as a shock to everyone here. If only psychic Jackie [Gilles] had given us the heads up, it could have saved us millions in logistics and marketing expenses."

As for the reasoning behind it, Tomic said his 72-hour jungle stay was a "wake-up call" and had prompted him to want to pursue a return to tennis.

"I don't want to spend half my time depressed here and thinking about how I played the last year and where I should be," he said. 

"A couple of days before I was about to fly, I put negative thoughts into my brain and knew it wasn't the right thing. I think it was my fault for coming and I only realised that after a couple of days here.

"I'm just depressed. I'm thinking I've never had time to think about my thoughts. I've always had people around. Aways have my mobile phone and my life is fast-paced and everything has slowed down the last three or four days."

Although some suggested the quit was a 'publicity stunt', Tomic said it definitely wasn't, adding: "It wasn't about getting bitten by snakes or jumping off the plane or the first time camping or the first-time cliff trials, it was about me being depressed and thinking 'is it the right thing to do?' when I knew it wasn't."

Former professional boxer and rugby league footballer Anthony Mundine. 

Image: Channel 10.

Season four had a few spanners thrown in the works – first there was Bernard Tomic quitting, then there was Anthony Mundine. 

A week after the first abrupt exit, Mundine said he missed his family and felt he had accomplished all he wanted to do on the reality TV show. Just prior, Mundine had competed in the infamous Viper Room challenge – the trial where contestants sit in a dark, claustrophobic pit filled with snakes. Fun!

Dr Chris Brown said it was clear that Mundine had been shaken up after the trial, saying: "After the trial, he was obviously trying to hide it, how distressed he was going through it."

Mundine didn't receive much sympathy after leaving the show though, due to some of his controversial comments made. He infamously said: "I just kick back and relax while women cook and clean. That is my attitude."

He also said some seriously homophobic remarks.

Comedian Mel Buttle.

Image: Channel 10.

Comedian Mel Buttle left the show's 2021 season, saying it came down to her crippling phobia of snakes.

After spotting a snake near the campsite and with the Viper Room challenge still looming, Buttle said it all became too much for her mentally. Just a few days prior, fellow contestant Toni Pearen was bitten on the face by a jungle carpet python during a challenge.

Buttle said through tears: "I have a proper phobia of snakes. It's very strong. I almost didn't take a comedy tour to India because of it. It's everything. I just don't know how I could possibly go to sleep or go to the toilet or go and get my washing… here.

"I have been losing my mind all day. I feel like sh*t doing this but I have to go unfortunately."

Media personality Beau Ryan.

Image: Channel 10.

The only other contestant to leave the jungle (so far) is Beau Ryan. 

He appeared in last year's season, and had been struggling in the lead-up to leaving the show. 

Explaining his decision to quit, the former rugby league player turned TV presenter said he wasn't coping with jungle life and the limited food, which also made him miss family life even more. 

"I remember growing up there was a guy who lived two houses down from me whose dad was always away for work – and I don't want to be that dad. My kids need their dad. My wife needs her husband. And I need to find myself back at the moment. I've got voices in my head saying 'don't be a p***y,' 'don't give up' … but I can't gain anything else from this show," he explained. 

He lasted a good while on the show though, quitting just days away before the finale.

Ryan later said on Triple M's Rush Hour with Wendell, Jude and Gus that his decision to leave meant he would have $200,000 docked from his pay to appear on the show.

"I didn't realise until I got back to quarantine and I spoke to my manager, after I spoke to my family, and he was like, 'No worries mate, that's just cost you $200,000'. So working it out, if I'd stayed those last five days — I sort of wish I'd hung around. But I knew what headspace I was in."

Feature Image: Channel 10/Mamamia.