Natasha Hamilton grew up in the Kensington area of Liverpool and joined the girl band Atomic Kitten at 16. They had three UK No 1 singles from 1999 and sold ten million records before splitting up in 2004. They re-formed in 2013 as part of ITV’s Big Reunion and toured occasionally before Hamilton left the band for good in 2024. As a solo artist she went on tour with Lionel Richie in 2007, has starred in West End musicals and featured in the reality TV programme Real Housewives of Cheshire.
Hamilton, 43, lives in Chester with her husband, Charles Gay, their daughter, Kitty, two, and her children from previous relationships, Josh, 23, Harry, 21, Alfie, 15, and Ella, 11.
How much is in your wallet?
I don’t carry cash any more. I’m an Apple Pay girl although I do like the feeling of cash between my fingers. It makes you appreciate the hard work that you’ve put into doing what you do.
I’ve started going through my bank statements recently because I can get carried away with Apple Pay just buying apps and signing up for things online. When I actually go into my account I’m shocked at what I’m paying for. Before Christmas I cancelled everything.
What credit cards do you use?
In my late teens and early twenties credit cards were thrown at me. I then had to spend my late twenties and early thirties paying off a lot of debt, so I’ve learnt to be less frivolous the hard way. I owed about £20,000 at one point.
When I went through my divorce [from her first husband, Riad Erraji, in 2013] I realised how important every penny is, when you’re having to fend for yourself and your children. I worked really hard post-divorce to get my finances back on track. Today I have one credit card for travelling, but 90 per cent of the time I pay it all back before the end of the month.
Hamilton with her husband, Charles GayGetty
Are you a saver or a spender?
I’m more of an investor now. I’ve got a big family and I think long and hard about everything I spend. I do wish the record company had given us some financial advice. I didn’t know what a financial adviser was until my late twenties or early thirties.
How much did you earn last year?
It was one of my slowest years. The music and live gig arenas are difficult and I was going through a transition, becoming a solo artist again. I’ve lived in the world of nostalgia gigs for many years but I want to move into something that fills my heart a little bit more.
I’m very lucky that I have the name of Atomic Kitten behind me. I’ve invested everything straight back into my record label, so I would say it’s been the tightest year of my life. Atomic Kitten sold millions of records back in the day, but the biggest chunk of the money went to the songwriters, and just as we were on the cusp of greatness I wasn’t well enough to continue. All the money in the world wouldn’t have been enough when I woke up every day crying, with my two-year-old saying, “Why are you sad, Mummy?”
There have been some crazy times, though. In 2005 I was paid £20,000 to perform a solo gig at a private party at an Italian restaurant in Moscow. The place was covered floor to ceiling in fresh flowers and in my dressing room I had a massive centrepiece of caviar, which I don’t even like.
The second I stepped foot on the stage every single man in the room stood up, walked out and started smoking cigars in a conservatory while I just performed to the women. It was like The Sopranos. I thought, this lot have to be mafia. I have no idea who the client was but it was one of the most lucrative gigs I’ve ever done. Sadly it was a one-off.
Hamilton, left, with Jenny Frost And Liz McClarnon from Atomic Kitten in 2002 Brian Rasic/Getty Images
I first really learnt about money when I left Atomic Kitten and was hit with a tax bill of over quarter of a million pounds. But even if things got that tough again, I’m not sure I’d go down the OnlyFans route like my Atomic Kitten bandmate Kerry Katona. I have no issues with Kerry doing that. She’s a single mum providing for her kids.
Have you ever been really hard up?
The period after Atomic Kitten was incredibly hard. I’d just bought and renovated a house, and I took a step back from work because I had postnatal depression. I really wasn’t mentally and physically able to do the job that I’d loved — and I was the breadwinner. To pay that tax bill I went back to work too quickly and it had a huge impact on my mental health. I had a mental breakdown. My divorce happened.
I literally had nothing. If I’d cashed in all my assets earlier, maybe I’d have had a couple of million, but it all just went. I remember being on the phone to my bank crying because everything had been paused, and I didn’t even have the login to my online banking because I’d given someone else that power. I was too trustworthy and quite naive. Numbers are not my strong point. I remember just crying, thinking I have no idea what I’m supposed to do next.
But I was very lucky that my divorce coincided with The Big Reunion. And I’m lucky to have a husband who has the patience of a saint.
McClarnon, Kerry Katona, Tom Jones and Hamilton in 1999BRIAN RASIC/GETTY IMAGES
Do you own a property?
I had a few houses at one point, and then 2007 happened and I lost a hell of a lot of money in property. At the moment we’re renting. We sold our last house and ended up with no house because the mortgage on the new property hadn’t quite gone through.
We ended up homeless for seven months. I lived in hotels and Airbnbs, but those prices shot up at weekends. We have a place in Spain and on some weekends it was cheaper to fly there than it was to stay in a hotel or an Airbnb. We finally found the home we’re in now, and within four months of moving in I’d fallen pregnant, but the plan is to buy somewhere this year.
Are you better off than your parents?
Yes. My dad was the filter man at Cains brewery in Liverpool and my mum was a school cook. They brought me up with the motto ‘your health is your wealth’ and we’re all healthy.
Everything I’ve ever had, I’ve always shared with my mum, my dad, my sister and my nephew, so I feel like I am in a privileged position. We go off for nice meals, nice weekends away and nice holidays.
I bought my mum and dad a house before I bought myself one back in the day. Without them and their support I would never have got to where I was in life.
Do you invest in shares?
I have a pension that’s doing OK. It’s a high-risk portfolio but that’s been in place for about five years as I didn’t have the extra cash before then.
What’s better for retirement — property or pension?
I can’t ever see myself actually stopping work. I feel like the day I stop doing what I love I’ll lose my sense of self. If everything comes to fruition work-wise I’ll be spending the rest of my life giving back and helping open doors for other people. In an ideal world, in five years’ time my label, Morpho Records, is going to be the home of pop music that everyone knows about.
What’s been your best investment?
Me, because I’ve been robust enough and learnt enough to survive in a volatile industry and still get paid well for what I do.
And the worst?
Property. I didn’t put my money into pensions, stocks or bonds. I put it into property and when that market crashed, oh God, it was painful. My properties were never repossessed but I ended up with a lot of negative equity.
What’s the most extravagant thing you’ve bought?
I joined the band when I was 16 and never learnt to drive, so once we started touring I hired a chauffeur, at my own expense. I was spending thousands of pounds a week on someone driving me around. Probably between £250 to £500 a day. If we went out on a big night I had to pay them overtime.
What’s your money weakness?
My husband says I’m a salesman’s dream and I’m a sucker for health products. I spend a fortune on collagen, mushroom tinctures for calmness, Flow Brew mushroom, Fifth Ray Cosmic Hue for gut restoration and I’m also in the middle of a heavy metals detox and a parasite cleanse.
Hamilton performing solo in 2024. “I can’t ever see myself actually stopping work” Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images
What is your financial priority?
Sustainability and stability. Investing now for the future and not living beyond my means.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
I’d buy a house, because we don’t have one right now. I would my treat my family to a few million each and set them up with a financial adviser to give them some help on how to make it work for them.
Do you support any charities?
The Guide Dogs and Girls Out Loud, which supports young girls.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt about money?
Respect it but don’t fear it. If you live in a state of fear then abundance can’t live.
Natasha Hamilton’s single Fantasy is out now