Celebrity Big Brother star Gail Porter has opened up about experiencing homelessness following her divorce.
Appearing on Best’s Suddenly Single podcast, Porter detailed her experience of becoming homeless following her divorce from Dan Hipgrave, which occurred in 2006 after five years of marriage.
Speaking about that time in her life, Porter said: “I didn’t have a home because I couldn’t afford the rent. And I was even applying for jobs at a bookshop and the library.”
According to the presenter, she applied for a number of jobs but was told that she would “be fine” due to her celebrity status.
After declaring herself bankrupt, Porter said she eventually found her feet, saying: “Now I’m back on my feet and so that is a good thing.”
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Following her experience, Porter has worked with a number of charities, recently teaming up with Prince William for the Homewards Aberdeen Innovative Housing Project, an initiative which aims to tackle homelessness.
As well as this, Porter works with an organisation called StreetVet, a UK based charity that provides accessible vet care to pets belonging to people experiencing homelessness.
On working with the charity, Porter said it was close to her heart as her cat Pickles was with her when she experienced homelessness.
Porter said: “I work with StreetVet. I got chucked out my flat when I couldn’t afford to pay the rent, and I had a cat, Pickles. She stayed with me. Some friends could let me stay but some had a dog.”
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She continued: “Some hostels will say we can take you but we can’t take your dog. When you have a pet they are part of your family. If it was really bad, I would have had to give Pickles to somebody else. But she made it through.”
Back in 2015, Porter appeared on the 16th season of Celebrity Big Brother. She was the fourth celebrity to be evicted after spending 20 days in the Big Brother house.
Celebrity Big Brother airs on ITV2 and ITVX.
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