She’s been looking notably slimmer and confidently displayed her newly-svelte frame in a crop top and leggings while walking her dog recently. Now Chanelle Hayes has revealed she’s had a secret gastric sleeve fitted and lost 7st after her “addiction” to food left her depressed and living like a hermit.
The former Big Brother star, 33, has gone from 17st 4lbs and a size 18 to a trim 10st and size 10 after having key-hole surgery to cut and staple her stomach, reducing its capacity from “a bag of sugar to a sausage” and limiting her food intake.
Chanelle – who also revealed she’s training to become a nurse – said the surgery has “changed [her] life”, adding, “No matter how many hours I did at the gym, I was relentlessly eating and eating out of control, like some sort of weird addiction to food or something. I just kept getting bigger and bigger.”
She underwent the procedure during the first lockdown last year, and admitted it took her a while to speak out because of the negative connotations around weight-loss surgery.
She said, “Surgery can be quite taboo as the only way out. But if you’re addicted to food, you can’t live without food... how can you break this addiction if you’re still eating this food every day?
“I wanted to come out and say I had weight-loss surgery to normalise it and prove it’s not a bad thing that I needed external help to do this. Not everyone can do this on their own.”
Since rising to fame on BB in 2007, Chanelle – who is dating accountant Dan Bingham – has been open about fluctuating between a size 6 and a size 20, citing depression as the reason for kick-starting her bad eating habits in 2013. She dropped four dress sizes in 2014, but later revealed she didn’t slim down in a healthy way, saying she’d starved herself and that her metabolism had been “messed up” due to constant dieting.
Chanelle – who’s mum to son Blakely, 10, with ex-footballer Matthew Bates and Frankie, three, with PE teacher Ryan Oates – later revealed that years of dieting had left her suffering with severe hair loss, leading to a hair transplant in 2019.
Check out: 31 of Celebrity Big Brother's most outrageous moments EVER
Celebrity Big Brother's most outrageous moments SLIDER
1 of 31Roxanne Pallett accused Ryan Thomas of punching her
When Roxanne Pallett and Ryan Thomas were playing fighting no one was quite prepared when the Emmerdale actress claimed that he punched her hard in the ribs. She was quick to tell the rest of the housemates, ask Big Brother why Ryan wasn't removed from the house and branded him 'a liar', 'manipulative' and 'calculating'. During an eviction the CBB crowd were chanting for Roxanne to leave and shortly after she quit the show.That didn't stop the nation from being furious and Ofcom received over 11,000 complaints. She's since apologised for her actions but Ryan's brother Adam has slammed her apology and so has the Corrie star's girlfriend Lucy Mecklenburgh.
2 of 31Kim Woodburn's explosive row
Security entered the house in 2017 to escort Kim Woodburn out, following an explosive row with her housemates.
3 of 31Christopher Biggins' shocking removal
In 2016, Christopher Biggins was removed from the house after making shocking homophobic and anti-Semitic comments.
4 of 31Stephen Bear and Chloe Khan's bathroom saga
In 2016, Stephen told Chloe he wanted to "f**k her in the bathroom" while the pair got intimate after locking themselves in the bathroom... the noises were unbearable!
5 of 31Stephen Bear's love affair
In 2016, Stephen Bear's girlfriend entered the house to confront him after he cheated with housemate Chloe Khan.
6 of 31Gemma Collins' controversial decision
In 2016, Gemma Collins chose to have a professional blow dry at the expense of her fellow housemates losing out on hot water and the use of hair appliances for the day.
7 of 31Megan McKenna's meltdown
In 2016, Megan McKenna's drunken meltdown got her removed from the house by security.
8 of 31Stephanie and Jeremy's romance
In 2016, Stephanie Davis publicly cheated with Jeremy McConnell, while her boyfriend tuned in to watch every night... awkward.
9 of 31'David's Dead' confusion
In 2016, Tiffany Pollard was hysterical after mishearing Angie Bowie's news that her husband David Bowie had died, and mistaking him for her fellow housemate David Gest.
10 of 31Stephanie Davis' knickers humiliation
In 2016, John Partridge, Christopher Maloney and Darren Day came across Stephanie's dirty underwear and publicly mocked her stains, referring to them as "pigeon s--t".
11 of 31Winston McKenzie's homophobic slur
In 2016, housemates were left stunned as Winston McKenzie's homophobic views were exposed in a task, as he compared gay adoption to "child abuse".
12 of 31Lewis Bloor and Marnie Simpson's shower scene
In 2016, Marnie Simpson and Lewis Bloor enjoyed a naked romp in the showers... Nice.
13 of 31Perez Hilton's sexual threats
Perez Hilton repeatedly tells Calum Best he'd "shove his huge dk up your ae" during a heated row in 2015.
14 of 31Perez Hilton harassing Katie Hopkins
During their daily bust-ups in 2015, Perez Hilton tried to lick Katie Hopkins whilst singing "lick it good, suck this d**k just like you should"... charming.
15 of 31Alicia Douvall banana-gate
In 2015, Alicia Douvall was left in tears after housemates caught her stealing bananas and hiding them under her bed... there's worse sins!
16 of 31Ken Morley's racist slur
Ken Morley was removed from the house in 2015 for using the 'n-word' in a heated discussion with Alexander O'Neal.
17 of 31Lee Ryan, Casey Batchelor and Jasmine Waltz's love triangle
Following her on-screen romance with Lee Ryan, Jasmine Waltz re-entered the house after he quickly moved on to fellow housemate Casey Bachelor in 2014.
18 of 31Leslie Jordan's row with Frenchy
In 2014, Leslie Jordan lost his cool with Frenchy after she cut up his underwear, calling her "white trash" and a "stinking French s**t!"
19 of 31Dappy's raunchy bathroom scene
Dappy 'windmilled' after jumping in the pool with Luisa in 2014.
20 of 31Spencer and Heidi Pratt's villainous antics
In 2013, Spencer and Heidi Pratt prevented housemate Claire Richards from getting a letter from her children... AND celebrated it.
21 of 31Lauren Harries falling over 24/7
Lauren Harries constantly tripped over in 2013. How?!
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22 of 31Denise Welch's drunken antics
In 2012, Karissa Shannon threatened to leave and sue the show as a drunken Denise Welch jokingly pulled down her trousers and exposed her bum.
23 of 31Frankie Cocozza and Nicola Maclean get steamy in the hot tub
Frankie Cocozza and Nicola Maclean get steamy in the hot tub in 2012.
24 of 31Julie Goodyear's banana scene
Julie Goodyear got a little too personal with a banana in 2012.
25 of 31Jedward get vajazzled
Jedward got vajazzled by Amy Childs in 2011... not something you want to see every day.
26 of 31Alex Reid's beauty regime
Alex Reid got a fake tan in the buff in 2010.
27 of 31Verne Troyer's drunken collision
Verne Troyer had a head-on collision with the Diary Room after getting a bit tipsy in 2009.
28 of 31Jade Goody vs. Shilpa Shetty
Jade vs Shilpa in 2007 led to one of the most controversial CBB moments EVER and to Jade's silent eviction from the house.
29 of 31George Galloway's cat incident
George Galloway pretended to be a pussy-cat in 2006. A nation shuddered.
30 of 31Jackie Stallone's shock arrival
Jackie Stallone's shock arrival in the house in 2003 was accompanied by the immortal line: 'Yeaaaah, Jaaaackie!'
31 of 31Vanessa Feltz tragic meltdown
In the first ever CBB in 2001 Vanessa Feltz had a meltdown and scrawled posh words all over a table.
Following Frankie’s birth in 2018, Chanelle – by then a size 18 – told Closer that the excess weight had left her with serious health issues, including back problems and knee pain, and that doctors had warned she’d likely become diabetic if she didn’t adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Chanelle told Closer at the end of 2019 that she wanted to get to grips with her weight once and for all, saying 2020 would be her year of “feeling good about [herself] again.”
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But last week she admitted lockdown had resulted in her binge-eating again because of the stress. Reflecting on how she felt about her spiralling weight and revealing she lived like a “hermit” , she said, “I didn’t speak to anyone for a year. I literally saw nobody... I didn’t even have a life.”
But following her gastric sleeve op last year, she embarked on a new fitness regime – with Closer previously reporting how low-impact exercise, such as walking and gentle running was helping overhaul her lifestyle, along with healthier meals of salad and eggs.
And Chanelle, who revealed she only eats 400 calories per meal, said she’s in the best place she’s been for a long time.
She said, “I don’t remember ever being this happy or content with where my life is going... Not just looks, [but] because it’s had such a huge impact on my mental and physical health.”
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