Lisa’s journey from Big Brother to living rough
WHEN Lisa Appleton left the Big Brother house to rapturous applause in 2008, she was on cloud nine.
Even host Davina McCall commented during her eviction interview that it was the best reception anyone had received on the way out of the infamous house.
Lisa shot to fame as part of the Channel 4 show’s first couple, along with Mario Marconi, and the pair became the show’s sweethearts after he romantically proposed to her.
They were offered magazine deals, went on holidays across the world and enjoyed a jet-set life while living in a mansion. But Lisa, who was 40 when she went on BB, found out first hand how quickly fortunes can change.
For the former bodybuilder, it couldn’t have been any worse – after work dried up, not only did she end up in a rat-infested council house on benefits, it also saw the end of her marriage.
“When I came out of Big Brother it went crazy for a good couple of years,” Lisa, from Warrington, told the M.E.N. “No one can prepare you for that. Everyone wanted a picture or to speak to me, telling me how much they loved me on Big Brother.”
She added: “But after a few years of highs, I hit rock bottom. Work dried up and I ended up on benefits. It was the lowest moment of my life.
“I felt like a complete failure. I lost my confidence and self worth.
“Everyone still recognised me, but little did they know I was living in a rat-infested council house, suffering with depression, clinging onto my marriage. But I had to try and keep up appearances.”
After her marriage broke down Lisa, 51, was thrust back into the tabloids last year when it transpired that she was living rough in a treehouse in a bid to find a job.
She said: “You can come off shows like BB and make a quick buck but it’s a fickle industry and next month it could all dry up, like it did for me,” said Lisa. I turned 50 and I couldn’t find work.”
Lisa got a job selling windows and conservatories while living in the treehouse which a farmer offered her for £5 a night.
To help pay the bills, and move out of squalor, Lisa took the controversial step of creating an Onlyfans site, where she shares sexy videos and photos with subscribers.
She said: “The response I got was incredible. And most importantly I started to earn money.”
Having got herself back on her feet, Lisa is ready to embrace fame again. She’s writing her autobiography, fronting a TV show, ‘Pop Culture Pulse’ with author Bryn Curt James Hammond and poised to launch her own organic budget beauty range called ‘Lisa’ after suffering dry skin while living rough.
She said: “I am delighted – I can’t believe how things have turned around for me,” she said. “I am living proof of the saying ‘never say never.’”