Skint couple who live on 50p per meal go on first date in YEARS after swapping lives on Rich House Poor House

A SKINT couple who live on 50p per meal went on their first date in YEARS after swapping lives on Channel 5’s Rich House Poor House last night.

Viewers watched as Ben and Demi Gowlan moved from their two-bed home in County Durham to multi-millionaire Steve Green’s newly refurbished five-bedroom house in Redcar, North Yorkshire.

Ben and Demi live with their two-year-old daughter Lillie in their rented mid-terrace home in Newton Aycliffe. In a bid keep costs low, they agreed to renovate their home to take money off their rent.

Things are financially tight for the couple who explained that after bills they only have £57 per week to cover food, clothes and emergencies.

This is in stark contrast to the Green family, who have a whopping weekly budget of £1,600 for food and treats.

Former army sergeant Steve lives in his five-bedroom home with partner of 20 years Gemma, their daughter Sadie, and his two-year-old granddaughter Ariana.

Steve served in Iraq and returned home with crippling PTSD, which strained his relationship with Gemma.

However his hardship helped him turn his life around when he put his focus on property and bought his first house with Gemma 19 years ago for £35,000.

They now have a portfolio of companies worth £6million but Gemma insisted “being a millionaire doesn’t change you, you are who you are”.

The Greens property empire is in contrast to Ben and Demi, who worked full-time before Lillie was born.

However, the cost of childcare meant Demi had to give up her job to care for their daughter and her dream to become a teacher was put on hold.

Life has been tough for the couple after Ben lost his job and he now works a zero hours contract as a roofer, which is dependant on the weather.

His unstable career means some weeks he can make £300 working six days whereas others he gets just £30.

Ben said: “There are times we struggle to afford to get milk in for Lillie but we always find a way… We’re desperate to get out of here, it’s a pretty desperate situation and we want out.”

Yet, Ben has dreams of one day being a carpenter while Demi wants to become a teacher but leaving Lillie makes her anxious.

The swap is the stuff of dreams for the Gowlans when they wake up in the plush pad to a personal training session at five in the morning with the Greens trainer Alan.

After their workout, the couple go to visit the Greens latest construction project, a £2million building project, which will be made up of flats, retail and offices.

They learn that Steve and Gemma came from humble backgrounds but were determined to become millionaires. The visit was an eye-opener for the couple and in particular Demi, who said: “If they can do it, why can’t we.”

But things are a different story in Durham as the Greens get used to life in a home that is barely half the size of their Yorkshire abode.

It’s a culture shock for the family when Steve and Gemma go to the supermarket for their weekly shop and learn they have only 50p per person per meal.

Picking up a bizarre assortment of food, Steve said: “I’m not thinking meals, I’m thinking survival.”

Having only £7 left in their budget after their food shop, the Greens get creative and decide to earn some money of their own, offering car washing and gardening services door-to-door.

While the Greens adjust to life on the “breadline”, the Gowlans are finding out the secret to success and Ben has hatched a plan to gret his family onto the right track.

Revealing he is going to start doing up houses, Ben used his new found wealth to buy the tools he needs to kick start his new life while Demi realised she needs to spend less time with her daughter to succeed.

Things come to a crescendo for the couple when they go on their first date in years to a fancy eatery and discuss how tough things have been.

During the meal, Demi makes a heartbreaking comment to her other half and said, “you haven’t been the Ben I met at home and this week I feel I’ve got him back”.

The date seemed to do the trick however with Ben admitting: “I feel like I’ve fallen in love with you all over again.”

While the young couple find their spark, Steve learned he had a lot in common with Ben when he took a trip to the local pub to meet his friends.

During the outing, the successful businessman finds out that they are both are joiners and were raised by their grandparents.

As they reached their final day, the Greens headed off to the local arcade equipped with £1 worth of 2p for some family fun while the Gowlans took their daughter Lillie to the toy shop for a spending spree with their remaining £700.

As the episode came to an end, the two families met for the first time and admitted that they learnt a lot from their experiences.

Seeing himself in Ben, big-hearted Steve offered the Gowlans training, worth an incredible £30,000 to help them get started on their path to their success.

• Rich House, Poor House airs Sundays, at 9pm on Channel 5.

In other news, last week’s episode saw a family who spend £600 a WEEK on food swap lives with mum who has to feed kids cereal for dinner.

Meanwhile this ‘dowdy’ mum-of-two who ‘felt invisible’ shaves 15 years off her age.

And a woman, 41, who suffered tragic breakdown underwent a dramatic transformation on 10 Year Younger in 10 Days.