We’ve met Chantelle Houghton many times over the years, but as she arrives for Closer’s photoshoot, she looks almost unrecognisable.
The star – who found fame as the first non-celebrity to enter Celebrity Big Brother and was crowned winner in 2006 – has undergone a jaw-dropping transformation.
Not only has she lost 2st in recent months, but Chantelle, 36, has also had a non-surgical face lift as well as Botox to her forehead and cheek fillers, after feeling “down in the dumps” over her appearance.
And to say she’s delighted with the results would be a huge understatement. “I love my new look! I feel about ten years younger,” Chantelle beams.
“It’s given me a massive confidence boost. My face looked tired, sunken and drawn, and I just wanted to put the oomph back in. Now I feel amazing!”
The down-to-earth reality star – who shares a daughter with her ex-fiancé, cage-fighter Alex Reid – admits her new look has already turned heads.
She spent two weeks undergoing her procedures as well as a round of semi-permanent make-up at celebrity salon Tracie Giles in London, and believes the transformation has worked wonders for her self-esteem.
“Just days after I had my makeover, I was asked out by two guys,” she giggles.
“I declined, as they weren’t for me, but it put a real spring in my step. Even the mums on the school run had to look at me twice. It might sound vain, but if you look the part, I think it makes you feel and appear more attractive.”
Despite her new-found confidence, Chantelle – who has mostly stepped away from the limelight in recent years – readily admits she’s been plagued with insecurities over her appearance, despite once working as a glamour model and fronting lads’ mags.
“I was never as confident as people believed,” she says.
“When I looked in the mirror, I thought I looked like I’d been dug up and felt downtrodden. I’ll be 40 in four years, and though I don’t feel old on the inside, my face was starting to look aged. There are so many pictures of me where I look fresh-faced. It was easy to keep looking and comparing myself.”
She adds, “But now I think I look better than I did at 20! It’s given me a boost mentally, too. If I was out, I’d always look at the floor and use my hair to hide my face, but I feel fresher and younger now.”
The 5ft 7 star has openly struggled with body confidence over the years, yo-yoing between a size 8 and a size 16, and has suffered an eating disorder, admitting she was “obsessed” with her weight. While she feels healthier than ever now, after following a plant-based diet, she concedes she’ll always have a difficult relationship with her body.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be 100 per cent happy with my figure,” she admits. “I used to be really stressed about it, but I’ve learned to accept my body will never be perfect. It’s very much maintenance with me, but I feel better than I have done in a long time.”
Chantelle has shed 2st over the past three months, dropping from a size 14 to a size 10 after making sensible food choices and exercising.
She explains, “My weight crept up to a size 14 and I began to feel uncomfortable. I’ve been vegan for six years and it makes me feel clean and healthy, but now I’ve just cut out all the rubbish. I walk a lot more, and I do three miles on my fold-up bike in the week. My stomach is more toned.”
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Now, her typical daily diet includes rice cakes with avocado, topped with chilli and coriander for breakfast. Lunch is a jacket potato with salad, and pasta or a Tuscan vegetable stew with couscous for dinner.
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Best vegan cookbooks
1 of 9Bosh! £8
Highlights: Ultimate Chili and The Big Bosh! Burger. amazon.co.uk
2 of 9Bish Bash Bosh! £9.99
Highlights: Vietnamese Sticky Tofu and Sweet Potato Tikka Masala. amazon.co.uk
3 of 9Dirty Vegan, £14.99
Highlights: Hangover Smoothie with Laverbread 'Oysters' and Mexican Soup, Avocado Salsa and Tortilla Chips. amazon.co.uk
5 of 9The Complete Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook, £11.53
Highlights: Ginger Beet Hummus and Smokey Butternut Lentils. amazon.co.uk
6 of 9Happy Vegan
Highlights: No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies and Tomato, Pesto and Lentil Baked Peppers. amazon.co.uk
7 of 9Leon Fast Vegan, £15.93
Highlights: Chili Con Jackfruit, Banana Breakfast Loaf and Coconut Bacon.amazon.co.uk
8 of 9Vegan Treats, £11.89
Highlights: Blueberry 'Cheesecake' Slices and Sticky Date Slices. amazon.co.uk
9 of 9The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town
Highlights: Red Velvet Cupcakes and Chocolate Dipped Pretzels. amazon.co.uk
Though she does have one vice: “I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I love freezing cold chips!’ she laughs.
And Chantelle admits she feels more comfortable in her skin since ditching her FF breast implants three years ago.
The star first went under the knife in 2007, boosting her from a B-cup, and says, “I never wanted big boobs growing up, but everyone from Katie Price and Victoria Beckham had them and I thought, ‘Why not?’ But I instantly regretted them because I suffered from back pain – they grew to a G and I couldn’t wait to get them out. I’ll never have plastic surgery now.”
Check out - shocking celeb boob jobs: before and after
Celeb boob jobs before and after
1 of 48Victoria Beckham, 1997
The artist formerly known as Posh Spice has never been one to shy away from baring the flesh. She had A-cup breasts on her frame back in the '90s.
2 of 48Victoria Beckham, 2013
Victoria girl-powered into the nougties with a noticeably larger 32DD chest but now appears to have reverted to her naturally smaller breast size.
3 of 48Samia Ghadie, 2011
Coronation Street hairdresser Samia Ghadie has always had a lovely, petite frame.
4 of 48Samia Ghadie, 2017
She went from an A- to a C-cup in 2013 after giving birth to her daughter Freya. The actress said: "After Freya was born my boobs disappeared. Anybody who knows me will know that it's something I talked about having done. I wanted to feel womanly again."
5 of 48Katie Price, 1995
Glamour girl Katie Price - formerly 'Jordan' - started her career with 32B sized boobs.
6 of 48Katie Price, 2018
Multiple boob jobs later, Katie's boobs were at their biggest when she was 32G in 2007. She has since had reductions and continues to talk about plans for more surgery.
7 of 48Heidi Montag, 2005
Reality TV star Heidi Montag first hit our screens on American show The Hills.
8 of 48Heidi Pratt, 2013
Fast-forward a decade later and Heidi - now married to Spencer Pratt - had size F-cup breast implants. She has since spoken of her regrets and underwent a reduction.
9 of 48Tiff Watson, 2015
Made In Chelsea star Tiff Watson LOVES working out and sticks to a strict vegan diet.
10 of 48Tiff Watson, 2018
Following her breakup with co-star and longterm BF Sam Thompson, there has been much speculation over her noticeably bigger cleavage.
11 of 48Imogen Thomas, 2006
Big Brother contestant and Welsh beauty Imogen was always very confident in getting out her bod on-screen.
12 of 48Imogen Thomas, 2011
But that didn't stop her going up to an E-cup after leaving the BB house. She has since had a reduction to a C-cup.
13 of 48Stephanie Waring, 2009
Stephanie Waring has played scheming Cindy Cunningham on and off in Hollyoaks since 1996.
14 of 48Stephanie Waring, 2017
Stephanie said her body completely transformed after the birth of her daughter, so she boosted her chest to a D-cup.
15 of 48Kym Marsh, 2013
Former Hear'Say singer and Corrie star Michelle has had three children.
16 of 48Kym Marsh, 2017
She has talked about how happy she is with her body after going from a B-cup to a 34D.
17 of 48Dannii Minogue, 1995
Former popstar and X-Factor judge Dannii Minogue has always had a tiny figure much like her sister Kylie.
18 of 48Dannii Minogue, 2010
She decided to get her breasts enlarged after divorcing her husband Julian McMahon.
19 of 48Jess Shears, 2017
Jess had a boob job when she was 20, before appearing on Love Island.
20 of 48Jess Shears, 2018
But after another procedure, which she said was a 'botched job', Jess had a reduction.
21 of 48Gemma Atkinson, 2005
Actress Gemma Atkinson first appeared on our screens as Lisa Hunter in Hollyoaks.
22 of 48Gemma Atkinson, 2016
Gemma had double D-cup implants but has since spoken about how she regrets making the decision after feeling insecure following weight-loss.
23 of 48Marnie Simpson, 2014
Geordie Shore and Celebrity Big Brother star Marnie Simpson has spoken out about how there was a lot of pressure to look good on TV.
24 of 48Marnie Simpson, 2018
After a botched boob job in 2016, Marnie has since appeared in Celebrity Botched Up Bodies and had corrective surgery.
25 of 48Vicky Pattison, 2011
Geordie Shore beauty and queen of the I'm A Celeb jungle Vicky Pattison has always been upfront about getting surgery.
26 of 48Vicky Pattison, 2018
Vicky went from a 32B to a 32D because she wasn't happy with how her boobs looked. She said: "When I lost my weight, they were just really lifeless and limp. One got really long and the other got really small."
27 of 48Chantelle Houghton, 2006
Celebrity Big Brother 'Living the Dream' winner Chantelle Houghton had B-cup boobs when she entered the house.
28 of 48Chantelle Houghton, 2011
Soon after winning CBB and living the celeb highlife, Chantelle got FF implants. She recently talked about her regrets about doing this and has had a reduction.
29 of 48Charlotte Crosby, 2013
Geordie Shore's Charlotte Crosby referred to her chest as a 'uniboob' - this is a symptom of a condition she was born with called congenital symmastia.
30 of 48Charlotte Crosby, 2018
Charlotte had a procedure on her boobs in 2017 and she looks very happy with the results.
31 of 48Rebekah Vardy, 2016
Loose Women panellist Rebekah Vardy has spoken about how she regrets going under the knife eight years ago.
32 of 48Rebekah Vardy, 2018
33 of 48Martina Big, 2011
Here's what controversial German actress and model Martina Big looked before getting surgery.
34 of 48Martina Big, 2017
Now known for her EXTREME body modifications, Martina's boobs are an eye-watering 32S-cup. She even uses a pump to inflate her breasts with saline. Do not try this at home!
35 of 48Kate Hudson, 2010
Kate Hudson has never admitted it but is rumoured to have had a little help from surgeons with her chest.
36 of 48Kate Hudson, 2017
It's thought that she went from an AA to a B. Thoughts?
37 of 48Darryn Lyons, 2006
Not going to lie, we'd never heard of 'Mr Paparazzi' before he went into Celebrity Big Brother in 2010.
38 of 48Darryn Lyons, 2010
But he became an instant legend due to his cosmetically enhanced abs. Wow. Just... wow.
39 of 48Rodrigo Alves, circa 2003 and 2018
Rodrigo Alves AKA the human Ken doll began having cosmetic procedures when he was just 19.
40 of 48Rodrigo Alves, 2018
He's said to have spent £10,000 on pec implants and £22,000 on a fake six-pack. Blimey.
41 of 48Lateysha Grace, 2017
The Valleys and Big Brother star Lateysha Grace used to have whopping F-cup implants.
42 of 48Lateysha Grace, 2018
Lateysha had her implants removed in 2018 to combat back pain.
43 of 48Luisa Zissman, 2013
Luisa thought her boob implants made her look like a "Love Island porn star".
44 of 48Luisa Zissman, 2018
She had her E-cup implants removed in 2018, taking her down to a "B or C cup."
45 of 48Ellie Brown, 2018
Ellie Brown appeared on Love Island in 2018, sent in as bait for Dr Alex George. Somehow, she resisted his charms and coupled up with Charlie Brake.
46 of 48Ellie Brown, 2019
Ellie allegedly went under the knife in October 2018, taking her bust from a 32B to a 32C. It's claimed she kept her surgery on the down low as she didn't want to influence her young followers on Instagram.
47 of 48Chloe Khan (formerly Mafia) 2010
Chloe Mafia, as she was then known, was mercilessly mocked by the public after her disastrous X Factor stint in 2010 for her 'chavvy' look.
48 of 48Chloe Khan 2017
Fast forward a few years and Chloe has rebranded herself as a savvy businesswoman and bought herself a pair of GIANT boobs to boot.
And while she’s revelling in her new looks, Chantelle – who had a whirlwind relationship with fellow CBB star and musician Preston, marrying in 2006 and divorcing just a year later – admits she’d love to settle down again.
She says, “I’m still in touch with Preston, which is lovely. I actually spoke to him a few weeks ago. We were so young when we met, and it didn’t work out, but it’s nice we’re still friends. Even when we split, we lived together for a while and would have dinner at the table as normal, because we never had a huge falling out.”
She adds, “I’d definitely like to meet someone now. I’ve been in the shadows for a few years, but I feel like a new version of myself. When you’re younger and you meet someone, you tend to gloss over the cracks, but now I’m at the stage where I won’t settle for anyone but the love of my life!”
Read even more exclusive celeb stories in this week's Closer mag - out now.