Chantelle Houghton burst into the Celebrity Big Brother house back in 2006 as a ''fake'' celebrity looking to secure real-life fame.
And after striking up a close-bond with housemate and falling for Ordinary Boys Preston her dream of life in the spotlight became a reality landing her lucrative magazine deals and living a whole new life than before.
But let's take a trip down memory lane to see how Chantelle - who faked her way into CBB and tricked celebs as part of a made-up girl band called Kandy Floss - has juggled life since that summer when she became an instant 'celebrity'.
Life after Celebrity Big Brother
After storming to victory on CBB in 2006, Chantelle became a frequent face on TV and was able to keep up her career as a reality star for a while.
She also turned her hand at glamour modelling, as her Paris Hilton-esque looks boded well with CBB fans.
She later released an autobiography following the high volume of public interest in her headline-hitting love life.
The chance to head back into the Big Brother house came around again in 2010, and she took part in the Ultimate BB, coming a respectable second place.
Whirlwind romance
Since her CBB stint, Chantelle's love life has intrigued fans, most notably her relationship with her housemate Preston.
The pair met when she was 22 and hit it off on the reality programme, and got engaged by April 2006 and tied the knot in August that year for a short-living marriage that ended in June 2007.
The couple forked out a staggery £300k for their ceremony and split after ten months, but still don't regret their time together.
Chantelle told The Sun in August 2020 that she still loves him and he will be a guest at her next wedding.
She said: “Preston is a one-off person. What we had was real back then and I still love him so much.
“I feel so lucky to have gone through what I did with him. Our relationship was completely real but we were so young.
“Mine and Preston’s romance was such a whirlwind. I don’t regret it. We were young and carefree."
New ventures
Chantelle has kept her hand in TV work and is known to appear on This Morning and has continued to maintain her status as a much-loved TV persona.
She has also netted a cool £1.5m from her various ventures including her autobiography Living The Dream: My Story.
However, when work dried up due to the pandemic, she took the plunge with a new job as a consultant for Body Shop.
She said to her fans on an Instagram Live: "I am pleased to announce I'm working with Body Shop at Home as a Body Shop consultant!"
She went on to recall: "I've loved the Body Shop for years - I remember being eight years old in the Body Shop with my mum trying on the make-up and spraying on all the stuff.
"I was vegetarian when I was about seven and became vegan in the last five years Lockdown, work, you can't get out of your house, I've just been so bored!"
Happy ending
After a string of fizzled out flames it appears she has found happiness at last after she announced her engagement to Michael Strutt in April last year.
The star, 36, who is mum to daughter Dolly, who she shares with former partner Alex Reid, had previously posted photos of her now-fiancé with a heart over his face on Instagram.
Chantelle reportedly first met Michael nearly a decade earlier when he was the neighbour of her mum Vivien in Essex.
Michael and Chantelle were first pictured together during lockdown whilst out on a bike ride, where Chantelle could be seen wearing a sparkling engagement ring.
