Lisa Appleton: “Flashing is my therapy”
Big Brother star Lisa Appleton tells Closer about her 50-a-day sausage addiction and why she’s proud to show off her body, whatever her size
She was catapulted to S fame when she appeared on Big Brother alongside her husband Mario Marconi nine years ago – but more recently Lisa Appleton has been grabbing the headlines for her eye-watering displays of flesh, which have seen her pose naked on the loo and going on holiday in a seethrough kaftan and G-string.
But far from just chasing a laugh-outloud reaction, Lisa admits that she uses her continual flashing as her therapy, after battling her way through severe depression.
In 2011, Lisa and Mario were left homeless after a fraudster, who was pretending to make a TV show about them, fled with all their cash. Her marriage subsequently broke down and Lisa moved into a rat-infested council flat, triggering three years of deep depression.
But three years ago, Lisa says she had an epiphany while walking through Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
“I’d lost everything and I’d reached rock bottom,” says Lisa. “All my confidence had gone and then, like a lightning bolt, I thought: ‘F**k it! I have to start living!’
“I took off all my clothes apart from my knickers and rolled around in the surf. People were watching because it was the middle of the day, but I didn’t care. I was finally ready to face the world and I didn’t care what anyone else thought.”
sausage obsession
And Lisa, 48, who has 27-year-old daughter Sophia-maria from a previous relationship, admits that in her darkest moments on benefits, she developed a sausage addiction which saw her eating up to 50 sizzlers a day.
She says: “Sausages were my comfort food. I’d go through a few packets of Richmond sausages for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was probably 50 a day. I’d even
stop off at the local chippies in Warrington a few times a day. They started to recognise me so I had to keep changing chip shops so they didn’t know I was there every day.”
She adds: “I was on a strict budget but I could afford sausages. I would have bangers and mash most days with onion gravy, sausage toasties or sausage and mushy peas. I loved the texture of sausages – the way it crunches when you bite into the meatiness. Ask anyone in Warrington, I always had a sausage in my mouth.”
FEELING LIBERATED
Lisa admits she suffered from an eating disorder in her twenties before becoming a bodybuilder. And she says going from a size 12 to a 16 during her sausage addiction made her prouder than ever about her figure.
She says: “When I was in my twenties, I was so insecure. I survived on an apple a day and I weighed 6st. I had terrible anxiety and I was miserable. I looked like a sad little skeleton. When I was a size 16 people would constantly troll me and call me a ‘fat whale.’ I loved my curves and I wasn’t putting them away. I was still mooning in Warrington on a Friday night. I felt liberated.”
MARRIAGE PLANS
The reality star, who has Ee-cup breasts thanks to implants, has now lost 2st after deciding to be more healthy, although she still admits to being “hooked on the sausage.”
Lisa adds: “I wanted to tone up for myself – not the trolls. I had a course of 3D liposuction and ate a healthier diet, although sausages are still very much on the menu. I look fantastic for my age. The only thing I want to change is my boobs. They’re too small and I want a G-cup. I live life to the full, showing off helps with my depression.”
The Big Brother star, who no longer speaks to Mario, says appearing in the show almost a decade ago sparked her naked ambition.
She says: “There are 60-odd cameras on
you 24 hours a day. I was filmed on the loo and even putting my tampons in. Once you’ve shared your most intimate moments with the world you’re pushed to extremes.
“I’m nearly 50 and I’ve just learned to love myself. I wouldn’t say no to getting hitched again – my husband would just have to be able to deal with my flashing. Life is short, so my advice to everyone is to just have fun. I know I certainly am!”
‘I used to always have a sausage in my mouth’