Reggie still buzzing after ‘shock’ win
SHE’S had limited sleep but Big Brother winner Regina “Reggie” Bird is still buzzing with excitement.
“It’s mental,’’ she said, laughing about how she pocketed $250,000 and made history by becoming the first contestant to win Big Brother twice.
“I did it! I can’t believe that I did it again, I was in so much shock.’’
The 48-year-old believes the unwavering support of Tasmanians helped her win the public vote on the show’s live grand final on Tuesday night.
There was a huge outpouring of local support in 2003 for Bird, who was a 29-year-old Cambridge fish and chip owner when she won $250,000 in series three of Big Brother and that support remains strong 19 years later.
“I can’t thank you guys enough down in Tassie for getting behind me, you helped me get over the line,’’ Bird said.
“I had so much support from down home, it was beautiful.’’
She now lives on the Gold Coast but “Tassie is always going to be my home in my heart’’.
Her priority is to stop renting and to buy a house to provide security for her children Lucas, 12, and Mia, 15.
She also hopes to finally write a book about her life.
Bird was shocked to beat Johnson Ashak and Taras Hrubyj-Piper.
“It’s sort of like when you bet on a horse and it’s the favourite, sometimes the favourite doesn’t always win,’’ Bird said.
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up at all, because if it didn’t happen you set yourself up for a big fall. I was so shocked when (host) Sonia (Kruger) read my name out.’’
Bird celebrated at an afterparty with family and fellow housemates.
“I had a drink, I had a dance and then I was like ‘OK, I can’t stay out too late’ but by the time I got to sleep it must have been 3am and I then had to be up at 5am for interviews,’’ Bird said.
She has a “gorgeous” man in her life after meeting him four years ago. She said it was hard to leave her kids for two months for filming, but winning made the sacrifice “totally worth it’’.
“They were just ecstatic and over the moon – they are very proud of their mum,’’ she said.
Bird wants to raise awareness about cystic fibrosis – which her son suffers from – and educate people about blindness. She was diagnosed with rare and hereditary degenerative eye condition retinitis pigmentosa 18 years ago and is legally blind.
Bird said most of her 2003 prize money was used to pay off her Tassie house which she left to her ex-husband in their divorce settlement. She also got fleeced by a conman who posed as a TV producer.
But this Reggie is older and wiser and will make smarter choices. “This time around it’s going to be better, better things are going to happen.’’