Chantelle Houghton admitted she went through an 'awful time' and 'stopped eating' after being thrust into the spotlight following her Celebrity Big Brother win.
The 40-year-old was a surprise addition to the show in 2006 when she entered the house as a non-celebrity with the task of convincing her famous housemates she was a well-known pop singer from the fictional band, Kandy Floss. She became the first non-star to win the series and even took home a £25,000 prize.
Her act didn't last long with the housemates - which included Michael Barrymore, Pete Burns and Jodie Marsh. The general public was a big fan of her as they watched her find love on the show with The Ordinary Boys star Samuel Preston - who she was married to between 2006 and 2007.
She had bald patches from the bleach and extensions (PA)
The star said she 'lost herself' in misery following the win (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)However, being thrown into the limelight had a huge impact on her mental health as she revealed she 'wasn't eating' and even lost a lot of her hair. "I was going through a really awful time. I was abused for a very, very long time,' she explained. "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."
She went on to explain how her weight fluctuated, adding: "I wasn’t eating, or only eating when I was starving. And then, when I was starving, I was eating anything I could get my hands on. I’d stop at McDonald’s or get a bag of crisps or a bag of chips." During her time on the show, she rocked bleached blonde hair.
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The chemicals and the 'pull' from the extensions gave her a lot of bald patches. She now rocks a natural hair colour and told The Sun that she makes sure to do weekly Kerastase treatments to maintain healthy hair. After Chantelle was crowned a Big Brother winner, the Essex native went on to enjoy a successful career as an actual bonafide celebrity and appeared on shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Weakest Link, and Hotel Babylon, in addition to landing big brand deals and working with animal charity PETA.
Chantelle re-entered the Big Brother house for Ultimate Big Brother, following the conclusion of Big Brother 2010, and was joined on the show by her ex-husband Preston. Meanwhile, in recent months, Chantelle overhauled her diet and added personal training sessions and boxing into her fitness regime after saying she was so overweight that “people thought I was pregnant”.
Mum-of-one Chantelle – who shares 11-year-old daughter Dolly with ex-boyfriend Alex Reid – said the one thing that really helped transform her figure back to a 9st 6lbs size eight was cutting out all sugar and no longer eating any processed foods.
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