Chantelle Houghton - 'I don't need a man to fix me, I'm happier than ever’

ok.co.uk:

Reality star Chantelle Houghton won over the nation when she blagged her way to victory as a pretend pop singer in the 2006 series of Celebrity Big Brother (yes, it really was that long ago).

Now, with the show set for a riveting revival, she tells new how her unusual introduction to fame changed her life and why she’s considering returning to the house. “It was the most incredible, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she says during our exclusive chat. “It was life changing.

I was so glad of the opportunity. I loved every minute of it. “Up until that point, I didn’t know where my life was going.Then I walked in that house and it shaped my whole future.” Chantelle, now mum to 10-year-old Dolly, has just celebrated her milestone 40th birthday.

Currently single, she tells us, “I’m concentrating on my life and I’m in a really good place with my health and my wellbeing.” Since winning CBB all those years ago, the Essex-born star has experienced her fair share of heartache – starting with her highly publicised whirlwind romance with fellow housemate Samuel Preston, frontman of rock band The Ordinary Boys. “It was a whole love story – pure and innocent and lovely,” she recalls.They tied the knot seven months after meeting in the house, but called it quits 10 months later in June 2007. “We’re still in touch,” Chantelle reveals. “We still talk, we’ll send messages to each other about funny things we remember.