Miquita Oliver has spoken out about “losing everything” 10 years ago when she was declared bankrupt.
The TV presenter rose to fame at the age of just 16 presenting Channel 4 ’s Popworld alongside Simon Amstell.
She was a familiar face on T4 for years and even landed her own music show, This Month With Miquita.
But despite being at the top of her game careerwise - and having a posse of celebrity pals like Lily Allen, Jaime Winstone and Nick Grimshaw - things came crashing down in 2012.
Then aged 27, Miquita was forced to file for bankruptcy after she was unable to pay a £170,000 tax bill.
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Speaking about her troubles a decade later, she told OK! magazine the ordeal had taught her a real life lesson.
The now 38-year-old managed to turn her life around and is back on our TV screens as a presenter on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch.
Talking candidly about her past, she said: “I lost everything, but it was a real lesson in surrendering to a moment and being humbled – and then having to pick yourself back up and live differently.
“Although my twenties were manic, I was saying to Lily [Allen] the other day that we were also two young women working really hard, at the top of our games in our careers when we were pretty young. I’m really proud of that.”
Back in the day, Miquita was a regular on the celebrity circuit and was often pictured on boozy nights out with pals.
After losing it all, she says it took her “a good four years” to reassess everything that had happened and make some positive changes in her life.
She reveals she started having therapy – something she recently went back to when she found herself struggling during lockdown.
Miquita shared she still has weekly therapy sessions now after admitting life isn’t simple and you can’t “quick-fix” issues.
One of the things that has helped her is moving back to Clapton, east London, round the corner from her famous mum, chef Andi Oliver.
The TV star lives on her own now – something she never thought she would do – but says spending time alone has really helped her get back on track.
Another thing that made her have a newfound appreciation for life is surviving the Boxing Day Tsunami in Thailand in 2004.
She was on holiday with pal and presenting buddy Simon when the giant wave hit killing thousands of people.
Describing it as the “worst experience of my life”, she recalled how her and Simon ran to safety but got separated, believing each other to be dead.
When they were finally reunited she said they spent the day sitting on top of a hill in case there was a second tsunami.
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