Tammy Hembrow's raw confession about panic attacks, divorce and dealing with backlash: 'I couldn't even go to the grocery store without breaking down'

Tammy Hembrow has lifted the lid on the devastating emotional toll of her split from husband Matt Zukowski — revealing she suffered severe panic attacks after their marriage collapsed.

The fitness mogul, 32, spoke candidly about publicly navigating heartbreak in a revealing new interview with Stellar, where she also addressed the frenzy surrounding a rumoured romance with AFL star Bailey Smith.

And while the mother-of-three admitted she hasn't always made 'the best relationship choices', she insisted she refuses to apologise for moving on with life.

'I'm growing, learning, living, making mistakes and starting again. I probably will make more mistakes, that's life,' Tammy said.

'Women are expected to be perfect — and nobody's perfect.'

The social media star — who boasts a staggering 16 million Instagram followers — revealed the breakdown of her marriage triggered one of the darkest periods of her life.

'I started having panic attacks... I'm glad to say I'm in a better place now,' she admitted.

Tammy said she turned to intensive therapy after finding herself emotionally unable to cope with day-to-day interactions.

'After this break-up, it was a necessity, I couldn't even go to the grocery store without breaking down,' she said.

'I was in a terrible place. Someone would say hello to me and my nervous system was so fried, I'd break down. It was crazy. I've never experienced anything like that.'

The influencer announced her split from former Love Island Australia contestant Matt Zukowski last June after just seven months of marriage.

But Tammy revealed the relationship had ended long before the public knew — something she says fuelled the vicious reaction she later received over her dates with Smith.

'You go on a couple of dates with one person and all of a sudden I'm being called like all these names. It's just crazy to me,' she said.

'Bailey, he's the sweetest guy. I have nothing bad to say about him.' 

She added: 'A woman going on dates after being separated and then breaking up, it's normal; for me, I get called every name — the trolls love to hate.'

Tammy also blasted what she described as a glaring double standard between men and women in the public eye.

'I feel like if men do the exact same thing no one says a word about it. Women are held to a different standard,' she said.

The influencer — who shares son Wolf and daughter Saskia with ex-partner Reece Hawkins and daughter Posy with former Ironman Matt Poole — also addressed the relentless criticism she faces as a working mother.

'I want to pull back on that content sometimes, but if I pull back I'm accused of not being a present mum,' she said of social media posts featuring her children.

'Just because I don't film myself making their lunches, helping them with their homework doesn't mean it's not happening.'

Tammy said many people wrongly assume she has a 'perfect' life because of her glamorous online image.

Elsewhere, Tammy revealed she is preparing to face one of her biggest fears on the upcoming Channel Nine reality TV series Shark!, which sees celebrities diving with sharks in the Bahamas, alongside The Block's Scott Cam, Olympian Ariarne Titmus and veteran actress Lynne McGranger.

And after spending weeks swimming alongside predators in open water, Tammy joked she discovered the real danger wasn't in the ocean.

'My experience... definitely within the industry,' she joked when asked whether there were more sharks in showbusiness than the sea. 'I'd much rather be out with sharks in the Bahamas.'

 It comes after Tammy broke her silence last month over her new romance with a 22-year-old toyboy - the influencer revealed in February that she had struck up a relationship with Sydney model Grayson Te Moana.