EXCLUSIVE: Former Big Brother star Chanelle Hayes opens up about her depression after being trolled over her changing body shape - and reflects on her time in the BB house
After being the target of social media trolls for so long, Chanelle Hayes is ready to stand up to the cruel barrage of hate. Her empowering photo shoot for OK! follows her battle with fluctuating weight and the multiple surgeries she has undergone as a result.
When Chanelle first shot to fame on Big Brother back in 2007, aged just 19, Twitter was in its infancy, and the likes of Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok were yet to be invented.“When I went on Big Brother, I was due to start university the month after it finished and I genuinely thought I’d still go back to normal. But it didn’t happen,” Chanelle, 35, exclusively tells OK!.
But in 2020, she had a gastric sleeve fitted and lost nine stone, dropping from a dress size 18 to a 10. The same year she also had a hair transplant, after yo-yo dieting left her with hair loss. “Having these words on me gives people a slap back to reality and makes them realise they do need to watch what they say,” she says.
“It got to the point where I didn’t want to go out anymore, so I’d just stay in on my own. I’d make an excuse every time someone asked me to do something so I didn’t have to leave. I lost a part of my life and myself. Now, I’m way more relaxed and chilled out.”“My friends are all really nice people, so I didn’t lose any of them, but I missed out on time and on fun things,” she admits. “It was so lonely, it was awful. And then I’d feel guilty so I’d eat.
“I’m happy with my weight, but I’m not happy with my tummy tuck scar. It goes up in the middle and I didn’t want it to,” she says. “I knew straight after the surgery that it wasn’t what I wanted. If I could go back, I would much rather have the loose skin I had before than have the results I have now.”
One person who has supported Chanelle throughout her post-surgery ordeal is her fiancé, Dan Bingham, 41, who popped the question in 2022 after one year of dating.
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