Wealthy student gets taste of life on the breadline
thomas.deacon@walesonline.co.uk
A RICH Cardiff University student swapped her designer lifestyle and parents 12-bathroom mansion to live with a struggling family-of-five.
Student Devon swapped her pampered life for to live with the debt-saddled as part of the TV show Rich Kids Go Skint.
Before moving in with the family of five, Devon said she receives a £500 a month allowance from her parents and spends up to £100 a week on Deliveroo.
The “shopaholic” also revealed on the 5Star show that she has a collection of Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags and an £800 designer coat.
The daughter of a rich businessman, Devon, who is originally from Devon, said: “I probably spend £50 to £100 a week on Deliveroos.”
Devon stayed with Paul and Sammie who have three young children and survive on a combined salary and benefits of £1,730 a month.
With all of their commitments, it leaves them with just over £50 for the rest of the month.
The small family home in Lincoln was worlds apart from Devon’s family mansion, which has 12 bathrooms, including three just for her.
After telling the cameras the area does not have a Waitrose on her way to the Gibbins household, Devon said: “It looks a bit rough, quite run down, there’s a lot of rubbish on the floor, the houses look quite small.”
More used to her Deliveroo orders, Devon also struggled to say how much milk or bread typically costs.
She said: “Loaf of bread probably costs about £3, £3.50.
“I’m not really sure. The cheapest milk, maybe like £2?”
Paul and Sammie said that they have a combined £3,000 of debt they are working to pay off.
“If we had Devon’s allowance we could be out of debt in four months,” said Sammie, who was training to be a nurse but had to drop out to look after her kids.
“It upsets me a little bit to think she doesn’t have to think about what she spends on clothes or her hair or her beauty.
“We could save for a new house, our life could be dramatically changed, which is scary to think.”
But over the course of the show Devon begins to realise more how other people live.
Sammie takes her shopping at one point and picks out three Christmas presents for three different people for less than £10.
Devon said: “When I saw how much the family had to budget, it was quite eyeopening.
“I don’t have to think about how much I have left for the week. It’s very hard what they have to do.”
At the end of her stay Devon said she was sad to say goodbye to the Gibbins family.
“I loved the time I spent with the family,” she said.
“I think I’ll take away the fact that I am very lucky, and I need to appreciate that a bit more and realise that not everyone is lucky enough to live the way I live.
“It’s kinda sad to leave the family, they’re all so nice. It was really opening to see how other people live.”
After the show was aired Devon hit back at online trolls who called her “thick as sh**”.
Despite Devon trying to help the family, from helping with some DIY to babysitting their children, some on Twitter criticised her efforts.
One said: “Honestly, her parents have got a lot to answer for, they should be embarassed #RichKidsGoSkint.”
Another said: “100k on her “education” and still thick as pig s**t #RichKidsGoSkint”
She replied and said: “I’m a Russell group uni studying law, can speak fluent French and on course to get a training contract and go straight into a 40k+ starting salary job.”