Imogen Thomas, a former Big Brother star, has revealed how she became a multi-millionaire after appearing on the reality show.
The 40-year-old media personality was a roommate on the show’s 2006 season, when she was a 23-year-old waitress.
After nearly three months in the house, the former Miss Wales was swamped with photoshoot and interview invitations after being crowned ‘Wales Sexiest Woman’.
Now, ahead of the series’ relaunch, Imogen has revealed about how she used her notoriety on the programme to build a property empire worth £10 million.
Imogen has been on multiple Big Brother spin-off shows, as well as a ghost hunting show, in the years following her reality TV tenure.
She has since stated that she no longer ‘officially works,’ but that this happened after she did everything she could to capitalise on her public image after leaving the home.
‘I came off the show and I just started working from day one. It was amazing, I made a lot of money,’ she said.
‘It was just all a bit surreal because I went in as a hostess and came out just making all this money and being wanted by everyone.’
Imogen quickly began investing her money in real estate with the assistance of a financial expert.
She currently owns two homes in Wales, an apartment in Notting Hill, and two Chelsea townhouses, one of which she shares with her two kids, Ariana, 10, and Siera, seven.
‘Because I own properties I have a lot of passive income, so I don’t technically work,’ she added when speaking to The Sun.
However, Imogen’s public status was jeopardised in 2011 after her romance with then-married footballer Ryan was revealed when he was identified in the UK House of Commons.
It happened after Giggs launched a campaign to keep his identify hidden, filing an injunction and threatening to sue Twitter users for disclosing his name.
Imogen publically apologised after knowledge of their connection became public, but she also profited more than £250,000 from a series of interviews about the controversy.
Imogen said during Big Brother that she routinely attended red carpet events and fancy parties, claiming that “the partying never stopped” until she had children and thought it was time to “calm down.”
Imogen stated she has ‘no regrets’ about her experience on Big Brother and called it the “best thing that ever happened in my life.”
She went on to claim that she had nothing but positive things to say about the series and that she ‘can’t wait for it to start again.’
Big Brother starts on Sunday, October 8, at 9pm on ITV1, ITV2 and ITVX.
