Reality star Chantelle Houghton has admitted she’s imagined having kids with ex-husband Samuel Preston.
The pair – who met on Celebrity Big Brother 2006 and married eight months later – met up with each other for the first time in 10 years.
An ongoing custody battle means Chantelle can’t comment on the child she has with her cross-dressing cage fighter ex Alex Reid.
But kids with Preston? “I’ve sometimes thought about it,” reveals Chantelle, 36.
“If we’d stayed together then yeah, definitely.
“I think he’ll be an amazing dad. He’ll be so much fun, so caring, so kind. He’ll make a fantastic father!”
The pair, who divorced after less than a year of marriage, were brought together for a New! magazine photoshoot after Chantelle posted an old picture of herself and Preston on Instagram
Although a decade went by without them actually seeing each other, Chantelle always stayed in touch with Ordinary Boys singer Preston.
“It can go a couple of weeks or it can go six months, but whenever we pick up, we just pick up,” says Chantelle. “It’s always been like that with me and him.”
The pair, who divorced after less than a year of marriage, were brought together for a New! magazine photoshoot after Chantelle posted an old picture of herself and Preston on Instagram – but seeing each other face-to-face sparked feelings Chantelle didn’t expect.
“I couldn’t even look at him at first,” she says. “Every time I looked at him, I was like: “This is so weird!” I kept having to look away.”
Luckily the nerves faded and “we just fell back into me and him”.
Chantelle is adamant they won’t be getting back together
“We were laughing and giggling,” says Chantelle. “There’s definitely still something between us.
“The whole shoot we were still flirting together.
“There will always be something special with me and him.”
While Chantelle is adamant they won’t be getting back together, could things have turned out differently?
Preston, 38, has previously said meeting on TV meant their marriage was always doomed, but Chantelle believes CBB is the reason their relationship got off the ground.
“I think if we met in different circumstances, we wouldn’t have even got together,” she says.
But she regrets moving into his Brighton flat so soon after they left the CBB house. “I think if we’d stayed in London, we’d have been together a lot longer, and maybe still be together now,” she adds.
Preston, 38, has previously said meeting on TV meant their marriage was always doomed
Essex girl Chantelle also says she would prefer to not go out with another celebrity.
“I think there’s a power battle, especially if you’re both from reality TV,” she says. “I’d probably prefer to go out with somebody who’s got a normal job, like a roofer.”
At present, Chantelle says she is making the most of the lockdown to pamper herself with face masks and facial sprays.
“I’ve not put make-up on for 10 days now, and my skin is so much better,” she says.
And she’s using isolation to get in shape. “I’ve been doing the Joe Wicks workout, which has absolutely killed me,” says Chantelle. “I’ve definitely moved more in the past couple of weeks than I have in the past six months.”
Chantelle’s glad her reality TV career launched in 2006, before Twitter and Instagram existed (Image: WireImage)
All this comes as pictures of Chantelle in nothing but body paint and lingerie have emerged, after they were shown in an episode of Netflix hit Tiger King.
The pictures, taken in 2011, show Chantelle painted like a tiger, as she campaigned against animal cruelty.
“I’m not in that shape at the moment, but I hope in the next six months I will be,” says Chantelle. “I’d take one arm off to look like that now.”
Chantelle’s glad her reality TV career launched in 2006, before Twitter and Instagram existed, and thinks social media has “ruined the celebrity industry” because it gives people such easy access to the famous.
She’s also against reality stars promoting products they don’t use.
She’s also against reality stars promoting products they don’t use
“There was that thing with Lauren Goodger lately – the undercover interview where she said: “Yeah, I’ve never even tried it’.” says Chantelle, remembering the Skinny Coffee drink Towie star Lauren promoted on Instagram.
“I like the girl,” says Chantelle. “I just don’t agree with that side of it.”
For Chantelle, these aren’t the only downsides. “I can feel really good when I wake up, then go on social media, and within 10 minutes I can feel really s***, because I’ve seen someone who looks a million dollars.
“And they don’t look anything like that in real life! A lot of people put pictures on that are so filtered and edited and it’s not real.”
Chantelle believes today’s reality stars are under more pressure than she was when she won CBB
Chantelle believes today’s reality stars are under more pressure than she was when she won CBB.
“It was simpler back then,” says Chantelle, who was told what to expect when she did the show.
“They explained what the consequences would be for me and my family, and the minute you come out, you see a psychologist, so from start to finish I was given support at all angles. They were bang on it, the whole way.”
● Chantelle has launched a new YouTube channel about beauty, fashion and lifestyle.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
