'I spent hours talking to trolls who called my body disgusting', says Big Brother star
15.10.2023 - 07:03
/ ok.co.uk
In an exclusive chat with OK!, Big Brother star Chanelle Hayes candidly discussed her experiences dealing with online trolls and the impact it had on her life. Chanelle first rose to fame when she appeared on Big Brother in 2007 at the age of 19. However, the landscape of social media was quite different at that time, with platforms like Twitter still in their infancy, and Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok yet to be introduced.
Reflecting on her early days of fame, Chanelle, now 35, shared her surprise at the rapid transformation of her life when she left the Big Brother house. "I genuinely thought I'd go back to normal after the show finished," she explained, "but it didn't happen. It was a complete whirlwind." As social media platforms gained prominence, Chanelle found herself facing increased negativity from online trolls.
However, it wasn't until she experienced changes in her weight that the trolling intensified.
Trolls would make cruel comments about her body, labelling it "disgusting" and asking what had happened to her. Chanelle initially engaged with these trolls, trying to defend herself, but soon realised it was counterproductive. "I used to reply to them, but I think it made things worse," she confessed.
"I would spend hours talking to these people, then I'd get angry, and it would really bother me." Over the years, Chanelle has faced fluctuations in her dress size, ranging from a size 6 to 20, largely due to struggles with depression and unhealthy eating habits. In 2020, she underwent gastric sleeve surgery , losing nine stone and dropping from a size 18 to a 10. She also had a hair transplant to address hair loss caused by yo-yo dieting, which led to cruel comments from trolls who referred to her as "an egg"
.