Reality TV
Chantelle admits she contemplated suicide
Published Sunday, Oct 15 2006, 10:21 BST | By Daniel Kilkelly
Chantelle Houghton contemplated suicide in the months before she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in January.
The show's winner now believes that her appearance on the reality series, where she met husband Samuel Preston, saved her life and helped her to realise her dreams.
"It was the worst year of my life. Everything I'd wanted was slipping away from me, and I thought more and more about ending it all," she told the News of the World. "I felt like a failure and I didn't have the strength to carry on."
She added: "I've spent the past 10 months living my dream. I've had my own TV show, been featured in countless magazines and, most important of all, found true love and happiness.
"The day before I went into the Big Brother house, I had 8p in my bank account, debts, and no job. Days after winning the show I put my bank card in a cashpoint to get a statement. The piece of paper popped out and it read ?25,000.8p.
"I looked at it in disbelief. Even though I had won the money on CBB, it felt as though the only bit that was really mine was the 8p."
The show's winner now believes that her appearance on the reality series, where she met husband Samuel Preston, saved her life and helped her to realise her dreams.
"It was the worst year of my life. Everything I'd wanted was slipping away from me, and I thought more and more about ending it all," she told the News of the World. "I felt like a failure and I didn't have the strength to carry on."
She added: "I've spent the past 10 months living my dream. I've had my own TV show, been featured in countless magazines and, most important of all, found true love and happiness.
"The day before I went into the Big Brother house, I had 8p in my bank account, debts, and no job. Days after winning the show I put my bank card in a cashpoint to get a statement. The piece of paper popped out and it read ?25,000.8p.
"I looked at it in disbelief. Even though I had won the money on CBB, it felt as though the only bit that was really mine was the 8p."
More: Reality TV, Celebrity Big Brother
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