She vowed to "live the dream" after winning Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, but fame has been hard on Chantelle Houghton. So why does she continue to dance with the devil?
By Beth Neil, photography by Barnaby Wilshier
July 3, 2011
Chantelle Houghton is nothing if not resilient. Five and a half years on from winning Celebrity Big Brother and still, here she is, valiantly eking every last drop of mileage from her 15 minutes of fame.
It seems she's always lurching from one doomed relationship to another, stumbling from one emotional trauma to the next. And with each incident comes a new opportunity to be in the headlines.
The latest event is her very public split with Rav Wilding after those rowing pictures were publicised. This is the first time the former Paris Hilton lookalike has spoken publicly since the split, and we're keen for her to set the record straight.
Many are cynical about the media attention the break-up received and rightly so - after all, Chantelle's job is to be professionally famous. It's a dubious career choice perhaps, but one which has, nonetheless, made her fabulously wealthy (FYI, she made £1million in the first year of fame).
"I've invested well and saved a lot," she says. "Best of all, I've been able to buy my house and look after my family. All I've ever wanted is to better myself."
Chantelle, 27, arrives at our shoot in high spirits, her blonde hair extensions bouncing as she teeters around in skyscraper heels. Chattering away about Keeping Up With The Kardashians, she's the same sweet, fun-loving, self-deprecating Essex girl she's always been.
"I don't have any celebrity friends and my family keep me sane," she says.
"I do have a normal life. I know it looks like everything is crazy the whole time, but when I come home from work and shut the door, I go back to normality."
We've followed her through every spit and cough of her whirlwind marriage to fellow CBB star and former Ordinary Boys singer, Preston, 29, and their subsequent divorce a year later. We've watched her undergo drastic changes to her looks (hello, 32Fs!) as she sought solace from depression via the surgeon's knife. And we've seen the shocking effects of the eating disorder that gripped her after the marriage split.
She's also dated footballer Jermain Defoe, 28, Jennifer Ellison's ex Tony Richardson, 30, and been spotted holding hands with, erm, Dane Bowers, 31.
And then we fell in love with her all over again as she played out her lingering heartache over the split with Preston - in front of the cameras, natch - on Ultimate Big Brother last September.
After they both emerged from the house, after 10 years of the reality show, Chantelle confessed she was still in love with her ex-husband. Cue more drama.
Over the course of the next few weeks, she and Preston didn't miss a trick as they milked the will-they-won't-they (eventually-they-didn't) saga dry.
And once that was dead in the water, Chantelle hooked up with Crimewatch presenter Rav Wilding, 33, ensuring more cheesy photos and column inches.
Fittingly, their break-up was captured on camera as the couple rowed during a picnic in Richmond Park, Surrey, in April. Rav was said to be furious that Chantelle, with her lust for publicity, had tipped the paparazzi off about their date.
And now? Now she's dating Alex Reid, 35, the latest Katie Price cast-off, and not the sort of guy who is going to offer an opportunity for a quiet life.
But that's not what she wants, anyway. Despite everything she's been through, Chantelle has no desire to head back down Obscurity Avenue. We put her under the Fabulous spotlight to find out just why she craves fame so much.
Is being well known everything you thought it would be?
I've been shocked at how amazing the high points are and how awful the low points are. There's no middle ground. And when I am occasionally in the middle I start to panic and think I should be really low or totally buzzing. I'm like: "What's going on?" But this is my life now.
So, is fame addictive?
I think it's dangerous. It's easy to start believing the hype and that you're this special person. But I'd never go around demanding champagne and caviar.
Would you ever want to go back to anonymity?
No, not for a minute. I'm so grateful for everything I've got, the people I've met and the things I've experienced. I'd go through the whole lot again.
Chantelle admits she's hooked on fame
Does the attention make you feel validated?
Yeah. Everyone likes to feel special, don't they? It's exciting. It's like actually living in a soap opera. There's always something going on. I'm just going to try to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
Do you like getting approval from the public?
Yeah. So many people come up to me in the street and ask for a cuddle or a photograph. I had a really lovely hug with a girl in Bluewater shopping centre in Kent the other week! It's really nice.
Did you want to be famous when you were younger?
I wanted to be someone. I always wanted to make something of my life. I was never academic, I'm not Einstein. I could never have gone to university - I think they'd have shut the door in my face! And so this was a way of making something of my life. My way. I said I'd live the dream and that's what I've done.
But you've said yourself there have been dreadful, crashing low points. When did that dream first start turning into a nightmare?
With Preston I was young and vulnerable and my management were making me do things I didn't want to.
Like what?
The glamour modelling. I felt uneasy doing those topless shoots, but I was advised to do them.
I didn't need to have my boobs done. It was a cry for attention
Do you regret that now?
Oh, God yeah. But I thought I was taking the right path.
What made you and Preston get married so quickly? Was it the need to keep yourselves in the public eye?
Well, yeah. All of a sudden I was famous, everyone knew my name and Princess Diana's dressmaker was offering to make my wedding gown. It seemed like the right end to what I felt was a fairy tale.
But it was, in fact, the entirely wrong ending...
Yes, but I wouldn't change a thing. Not a thing. Because now I know even better what I want from life and also from my next marriage. I learned so much from it.
You went through quite a transformation in the aftermath of the split with Preston.
I know. I had my boobs done, my lips done, hair extensions, I piled on the fake tan. I think I was trying to cover something up. I look back at pictures of me from that time and feel sorry for that girl. What was I thinking? I was going out and getting drunk and spending the whole of the next day hungover. It was horrible. I'd hate to go back there now.
And there was the battle with bulimia, too?
Yeah. The issues with food will always be with me. It started when I was around 14 but I managed to keep it under control until the split from Preston.
Was it the pressure of life in the spotlight that brought it back?
It's definitely a way I cope with stress.
Do you think you went too far with the surgery?
If I had my time over I would never have my boobs done. I didn't need to have them done, it was a cry for attention. And I think I got addicted to lip fillers. I'd get them done and then be back within three or four weeks asking for them to be done again. I wanted to keep doing it and keep doing it and see how far I could push myself.
Did that stem from your low self-esteem?
Oh, definitely. Definitely. And now if I feel myself slipping back to feeling that low I try to keep occupied with something I enjoy doing to take my mind off things.
Did you find it difficult that your personal problems were played out in public? Or did you like the attention?
You know, weirdly, I think it helped me. I'm not a private person and knowing that everyone knew was a comfort.
Have you ever had therapy?
I did go to see someone, yeah. And I was going to carry on with it, but I didn't want to sit there and talk to some stranger about stuff. That's what my friends and family are there for.
There's a lot written about your break-up with Rav. Do you want to give us your side of the story?
If you're in a relationship, you don't want it to fail. But there were elements of Rav's character that wouldn't let me be myself. He found the fact I had an ex-husband very hard to handle. But that's my past and I can't change that. I wouldn't want to.
It all ends in tears when Chantelle and Rav have a very public row
What caused the argument that day in Richmond Park?
Basically, the animal charity PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] had asked me to do a shoot which involved me taking my clothes off and Rav didn't like me doing anything like that. I work very closely with PETA and I feel really strongly about it. I'd do anything for them. It's not a terrible thing to want to do charity work is it?
Of course not. But is that really all that set him off?
Well, we were planning on going on holiday on the Monday which was the same day as the shoot. So it was going to mean delaying leaving until the Tuesday.
And he just blew up?
Uh-huh. That was it.
Do you think he liked the attention that came with the relationship at the start...
Yeah. I think everything he loved about me in the beginning he actually came to hate. I don't know, it's really hard to describe. All of a sudden he was in this world and he didn't want that any more. He just wanted me to himself. That doesn't make him a horrible person, but it's part of his character that I couldn't adjust to because I believe so passionately in what I do.
When did you first start to realise that things weren't quite right with the relationship?
Very early on. But when you first meet someone and you like them, you ignore those warning signs. Because who doesn't want to be happy? But it got worse. He wouldn't let me be me.
Did you stick at it because you have a need to feel loved?
Yes. I want the whole "happily ever after" thing.
There have been whispers from his side that the paps who captured the row were tipped off by you...
The thing is, a lot of celebrities live near Richmond Park, so there are always going to be photographers there. But the argument wasn't about that. It was about the shoot I wanted to do which was going to delay our holiday by a day.
But it's important we get this established. Did you tip the paps off that day?
We were going for a picnic. We had strawberries and champagne and it was meant to be lovely. And it was all ruined by the argument over the photo shoot.
OK, so it was pure chance the photographers happened to be there?
Everything Rav loved about me at the start, he came to hate
Richmond Park is always full of paps.
Richmond Park is vast. It was pure coincidence they were in that particular spot?
Well, yeah. I picked Rav up in Soho which is media central so we could have been followed. It happens to a lot of people.
Were you aware that the pictures were being taken?
I didn't have a clue. Not until I saw the pictures in the paper. It was really upsetting because obviously he then randomly dumped me on Twitter. I think he panicked. I still don't know why he finished with me.
Have you ever tipped the paps off?
[Looks uneasy]
Come on, you wouldn't be the first celeb to have done that!
OK, exactly! Who hasn't? Yeah. I'd be dishonest if I said I'd never done that.
Have you spoken to Rav since?
We've exchanged texts but that's it. I'll never know. It's just completely messed up, a head****. I don't understand it and I went through a really bad couple of weeks.
Your relationship with Alex Reid is another one that'll be played out in public. Don't you think you'd be better off with a Mr Ordinary?
I've dated people who aren't in the public eye and all they do is ask: "Do you know such and such?", "Can we go to this party?", "Why can't I be in the magazines with you?"
When you're with someone in the public eye, they just get it. It's 100 per cent easier to be with a celebrity - there's an instant trust between you. There aren't any hidden agendas, there won't be a kiss and tell in the papers.
Chantelle wears: dress, Love at Topshop, belt, Warehouse; shoes, River Island
How serious is it really with Alex?
I like him, he likes me and we've spent some really normal dates together where there haven't been any photographers present.
What made you fall for him?
I met him at a number of events and we just hit it off. We've got loads in common. We were both shoved into the limelight really quickly, we fell in love and got married really quickly, then got divorced really quickly. Also we both won Celebrity Big Brother! Plus Alex is absolutely gorgeous! He's been a shoulder to cry on and he's so fun and energetic. I can be myself around him.
He's been through the mill as well.
Exactly. That's why we're taking the relationship slowly.
That makes a refreshing change! You do seem to live life on fast forward.
Actually I'm pregnant and I'm getting married next week! [Laughs]
Are you still in love with Preston?
No. I've really let that go. And Preston's got a girlfriend right now who he's madly in love with.
I can be myself with Alex Reid. Plus, he's gorgeous!
Just like he was the last time. And the time before that.
[Laughs hard] Very true!
What would you like to go on and do in the future?
I'd absolutely love to do another reality show.
Really? You're a glutton for punishment.
I know, I know! But I'd really love to go on I'm A Celebrity! Also I've just opened a clothing boutique, Vardo, in Essex, and having my own business is something that I've wanted to do for a long time. I'm happiest when I'm working, so it's fantastic to have something I feel really passionate about to focus on.
Is it the money or the fame that drives you? Or both?
I just enjoy the job. I love coming on shoots, getting my hair and make-up done and trying on lovely outfits. And if I wasn't doing this I don't know what the hell I'd be doing. So thank God for Celebrity Big Brother. I left my mum's house that morning and never went home again. It freaks me out sometimes.
How much money have you made since CBB?
I've been really sensible with my money. I'm comfortable for life and that's all I ever wanted. I wanted a better life and I feel like I've achieved that.
Are you still living the dream?
I've had my ups and downs. I've had my heart broken. But I've got a great life and I couldn't be happier.
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