S Club 7 star Jo O’Meara has spoken out about the aftermath of her controversial Celebrity Big Brother appearance.
The 42-year-old starred on the show back in 2007 and was accused of racist and bullying behaviour towards Indian actress Shilpa Shetty, alongside Jade Goody, Jackiey Budden and Danielle Lloyd.
Speaking to The Sun, the singer apologised for her actions and insisted she had changed as a person in the 14 years since.
She explained that she had gone into Big Brother for the “wrong reasons” having entered to earn enough money to save her home.
Jo said: “Everything that happened around that time… I am so, so sorry to everybody out there I ever offended, because I never meant to hurt anybody. All I can do is apologise and let people know that I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’m a very different person today.”
She went on to say that she was “punished” for her actions and had a “complete breakdown” in the aftermath.
She added: “I think a lot of people wanted me to be punished for what happened, and I was. I lost my career. I lost my home. I lost everything and I’m still trying to rebuild today. That’s why I feel so blessed to be back doing what I love.
(Image: itv)
“I had a complete breakdown and it wasn’t a nice time for everybody involved. If I could go back in time and change what happened then I would, but I can’t. All I can do is hold my hands up and apologise.”
Jo went on to say that having her son, Lenny, now 13, helped to give her something positive to focus her energy on and forced her to grow up quickly and “dig her out” of the hole she was in.
(Image: Getty Images)
She remains amicable with Lenny’s father, Billy Slate, but revealed she has no plans to get married soon, finding herself happy being single and “in a relationship with music”.
Jo joined S Club 7 at the age of 20 in 1999 and admitted that she struggled with the pressures of being in a band, and turned to comfort eating.
“I was never there to be the pretty one – I was just the one that sang the songs and it made me feel very insecure. When I had my back injury [while filming S Club 7 film Seeing Double In 2002], I turned to comfort eating and then I’d get in that vicious cycle,” she said.
Fortunately, the star is in a much better place now and has recently released a new album, With Love.
She said that some of her former bandmates had reached with supportive messages and that she stays in touch the most with Rachel Stevens and Hannah Spearritt.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
