Yazmin Oukhellou has told how she’s ‘scarred for life’ following the horror car crash in Turkey earlier this month which killed her boyfriend Jake McLean.
The TOWIE star, 28, suffered serious injuries to her arm in the crash, which took place in the early hours of Sunday July 3, with doctors telling Yazmin it’s a ‘miracle’ she’s still alive.
Breaking her silence following her arrival back home, Yazmin admitted: ‘This will live with me forever’ as she processed what happened.
Ordeal: Yazmin Oukhellou has told how she’s ‘scarred for life’ following the horror car crash in Turkey earlier this month which killed her boyfriend Jake McLean
In an interview with The Sun, an emotional Yazmin told how she struggled to comprehend how she survived the crash and Jake didn’t, with medics telling her that she’s an ‘angel’ as people do not tend to survive the ‘notorious’ crash location.
The traumatised star is also unable to sleep without her mother Lisa by her side since her ordeal.
She said: ‘I severed an artery and a nerve, that’s why I bled so much. The doctors called me an angel, a miracle, because it’s a notorious spot and people have never survived. Now I’m just wondering how the hell did my partner die while I’ve survived? It’s made me look at life totally differently.’
Yazmin continued: ‘I am definitely going to need therapy for a while, and I’m going to try some in-patient treatment too. I know this will live with me forever, I need to take it slowly.’
Pain: The TOWIE star, 28, suffered serious injuries to her arm in the crash, which took place in the early hours of Sunday July 3, with doctors telling Yazmin it’s a ‘miracle’ she’s still alive
In addition to therapy, Yazmin may also need plastic surgery as she’s been left with ‘permanent scarring’, with UK doctors warning she may never have the full use of her right arm.
The TV personality deliberately broke her trapped arm to escape the crash and rush for help – while Jake lay unconscious.
She said of the prospect: ‘I could have been like Jake and not survived so I’m just very grateful and lucky that if that’s the worst case scenario, I will deal with it as best I can. The scarring that I have is awful so I will always have that as a reminder. But at least I’m still alive.’
As she continues to recover from the terrifying experience, Yazmin told how her emotions are ‘very up and down’ as she processes the grief of losing Jake.
Traumatised: Breaking her silence following her arrival back home, Yazmin admitted to The Sun : ‘This will live with me forever’ as she processed what happened (pictured last month)
She detailed how she had lost relatives in the past, including her beloved Nan last year, but no one who she’s loved in an ‘intimate way’, admitting it’s ‘very difficult’.
Amid her recovery, Yazmin is staying clear of ‘social settings’ and will not be logging on to social media, while she’s also changed her phone number.
She emphasised that her ‘focus’ is just to get herself well again and to deal with what happened to her and Jake, adding that her on-off beau was the only person she felt ‘a love like that for’.
Shocking: Jake McLean died after crashing his car off a road near the party resort of Bodrum, in Turkey
The beauty went on to say that the ordeal will ‘stay with me for life’ before remarking that she loved Jake, whom she travelled across the world to be with, ‘so hard’.
Following the crash, Yazmin was forced to break her own arm to escape the car and find help, admitting she had ‘no choice’ but to take the drastic action.
At the time Yazmin didn’t realise she had opened an artery but revealed she was covered in blood as she lay upside down in the car.
Tragic: motional Yazmin told how she struggled to comprehend how she survived the crash and Jake didn’t, with medics telling her that she’s an ‘angel’ as people do not tend to survive the ‘notorious’ crash location
Yazmin said she convinced herself that Jake was still alive as she ran to the top of the bank they has rolled down and screamed for help.
Luckily, a man walking his dog found her instantly and rushed down to the car to help, but sadly it was already too late as Yazmin said she couldn’t feel Jake’s pulse.
Yazmin said the grief and shock have left her needing therapy and she hasn’t left her mother Lisa’s side since the accident.
The reality star also confirmed that the couple were currently off, but she flew out to Turkey in the hope they could reconcile and recalled how the trip made things ‘perfect’ between them.
The television personality had been on holiday with Jake in the resort of Bodrum where the terrifying incident took place.
Injury: In addition to therapy, Yazmin may also need plastic surgery as she’s been left with ‘permanent scarring’, with UK doctors warning she may never have the full use of her right arm
Jake and Yazmin were driving in a blue Mercedes E class saloon along a windy, mountainous road between the coastal city of Bodrum and the seaside town of Yalikavak as they returned from a night out.
The crash took place at around 4.30am and investigators have established that the car hurtled around 70 feet over a left turn bend and landed in a ravine almost 30 feet below.
Jake was pronounced dead at the scene while Yazmin was rushed to hospital, where she underwent treatment for her injured arm.
After the crash, she clambered through thick, thorny bushes to stop a passing motorist for help.
Heartbreak: The grief and shock of the crash and losing Jake have left Yazmin needing therapy
A source told MailOnline last week that Yazmin has been left heartbroken: ‘Yaz is unable to feel any sense of relief because her heart has been ripped in two over Jake’s death.
‘She still can’t come to terms with what has happened.’
Jake, 33, – who has previously dated former TOWIE star Lauren Goodger – was driving at the time of the crash.
Yazmin suffered serious injuries but pulled herself from the wreckage to get help.
Her mother flew out to support her daughter during her recovery at Bodrum’s Acibadem Hospital in the days after the crash before bringing her home.
Family: Yazmin’s mum flew out to Turkey to support her daughter in the days after the crash, and helped to bring her back home
Meanwhile MailOnline understands that Yazmin could face a police quiz in upcoming days amid reports about the moments leading up to the crash.
According to reports yesterday she was arguing with Jake as their car crashed.
The claims were made by his mum, Anita Walsh, who raised her concerns with prosecutors investigating the crash that killed her son in Bodrum, Turkey.
Anita told prosecutors that Jake would not have lost control of the car as it flew off a bend on a mountainous road because of his driving expertise.
An Assistant Prosecutor who cannot be named under Turkish Law told MailOnline on July 6: ‘We have spoken with Jake’s mother and she has told us that something was going on in the car that distracted him.
‘She does not believe that this accident was caused by his poor driving. She said that he is a very skilled and experienced driver and would not have lost control of the car like this.’
Prosecutors are investigating whether Jake was drink-driving. The on-off couple argued outside a club at 3am, shortly before Sunday’s crash.
Jake and Yazmin are thought to have got together in May last year before she revealed their relationship on Instagram in December in a clip that showed the pair kissing.
But she split from him just a month later after he was reportedly caught ‘acting single’ while on a holiday in Dubai and leaving a club alone with Love Island ex Ellie Jones.
The pair were still thought to be split up when the crash happened on Sunday. Friends say they are unsure what the pair were doing together in Turkey, but may have been there to sign some kind of business deal.
A source told MailOnline: ‘It’s a complete tragedy and a total loss of life. Everyone is in shock and hoping Yazmin makes a full recovery.
History: Jake (right) rose to fame while dating Lauren Goodger (left) as she appeared on The Only Way Is Essex, Dancing on Ice and Celebrity Big Brother. The on-off couple got together for the first time in 2012 but split for good in 2016
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