Chantelle Houghton wasn’t renowned before Celebrity Big Brother, but that didn’t stop her from winning – but her supposedly fairytale reality TV experience, which included falling in love with fellow housemate Samuel Preston, wasn’t all great afterwards.
The former NatWest banker had a one-of-a-kind CBB experience, as she was charged with persuading a house full of celebs, ranging from Jodie Marsh to the late Pete Burns, of her celebrity. Chantelle set up the complicated task by informing the competitors she was the lead singer of a fictitious pop group (Kandy Floss…with a K).
Chantelle surprisingly ended up falling in love with the Ordinary Boys leader after passing with flying colours, and the couple married swiftly but divorced after just over a year.
The now-40-year-old has spoken up about the impact her reality TV stint in 2006 had on her life.
She kept her hair long and peroxide-blonde for the Channel 4 series, which will be shown on ITV next month.
‘Because I was so blonde, and due to the pull of the extensions, I ended up with so many bald patches,’ she revealed.
The star had to take action to revive the damaged hair: ‘I had the extensions all taken out, went dark and just do weekly Kerastase treatments on my hair and take care of myself now.’
While speaking to The Sun, Chantelle opened up about taking a break from the spotlight.
‘I needed to step out of the spotlight for my mental health,’ she candidly shared.
‘I was going through a really awful time. I was abused for a very, very long time.
‘I lost myself in a lot of misery and I’m getting myself back bit by bit and enjoying being the person I always was.’
Chantelle, who has a daughter named Dolly with Katie Price‘s ex-husband Alex Reid, struggled with her weight as well.
She admitted: ‘I wasn’t eating, or only eating when I was starving.’
She has changed her lifestyle and is now eating non-processed foods, and she feels much better.
The TV personality also discussed a terrible episode with a stalker that occurred after her series six victory.
‘When I was on Big Brother the first time, there was a lady from Coventry that used to write letters to my mum saying that she had this connection with me,’ she recalled.
‘She was getting quite intense. Then she offered to give me one of her Ferraris.
‘One day my mum opened the door, and this lady was standing there, and she asked if I was home, and my mum was like “who are you?”’
She continued: ‘Then my mum realised it was ‘that lady’ and it got heavy because she said she was in love with me, and she was going to leave her husband…. So my mum had to call the police. Very weird.’
Big Brother starts on Sunday October 8 at 9pm on ITV1, ITV2 and ITVX.