Before BB I was with a nice man, if it wasn’t for Preston I would have married him
BIG Brother legend Chantelle Houghton has sensationally revealed she almost married someone else instead of Preston.
Chantelle, 40, famously married The Ordinary Boys frontman Samuel Preston, 42, after falling in love on the show in 2006.
4
But their happily ever after was unfortunately not meant to be as they divorced in November the following year.
Seventeen years after their failed marriage, the former insurance teleseller has confessed that she almost married another man before she became famous.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun’s Fabulous magazine, Chantelle said: “Although I don’t regret it Big Brother, I sometimes wonder what my life would be like now if I hadn’t gone on the show.
“Before the series started, I was with a man who I probably would have married and had children with. He was always so nice to me.
more about Chantelle Houghton
“As for Preston, we are still good friends and I love having him in my life. We were just too young when we got married.
“No matter what happens, I am incredibly grateful and I have the most fantastic memories.
“Does my version of the perfect man exist? Maybe he’s out there, maybe he’s not.
“But I’m no longer looking for him and for the first time in many years that has brought me peace.”
With Celebrity Big Brother back on the small screen, now on ITV, Chantelle is reminiscing about the show that changed her life.
She was working as a temporary worker at NatWest when she was thrust into the spotlight in the fourth series of the famous spin-off, in which she posed as part of fictional girl band Kandy Floss.
She appeared at the famous Channel 4 house alongside showbiz names including Michael Barrymore and the late Dead Or Alive singer Pete Burns.
Viewers fell in love with her overnight and she came out on top after striking up a romance with pop star Preston.
After their divorce in November 2007, Chantelle had several high-profile relationships, including with TV presenter Rav Wilding and cross-dressing cage fighter Alex Reid – with whom she shares daughter Dolly, now 11.
She told us: “Watching the contestants enter the Celebrity Big Brother house last week took me back to 2006.
“It’s been 18 years since I joined the show as the ‘fake celeb’. I had no idea my life would change forever thanks to a romance with The Ordinary Boys frontman Preston, which captured the hearts of millions of viewers.
“Although our whirlwind love story – which saw us marry within eight months of meeting – would end in divorce the following year, the way we fell for each other was pure and happened in such an organic way.
‘I feel so privileged to have experienced true love in this way, because I’m not sure if this will ever happen to me again.
“The dating landscape has completely changed; decency seems to have gone out the window, and in all honesty, after a string of heartbreak, cheating partners and disastrous dates, I have now given up looking for love.
“And I haven’t even mentioned the creeps who approach me on social media with sexually inappropriate messages. Where have all the gentlemen gone?
“Chivalry seems dead and I would rather stay single for the rest of my life than settle for someone who makes me miserable.
“Empowered and free at the age of 40, I have reached a place where I can do just fine on my own. In fact, I am happier than ever.
“That also means that I have to say goodbye to intimacy, which makes me officially celibate.”
4
4