How Mrs Hinch went from a struggling hairdresser to the UK’s richest cleanfluencer living in her millionaire’s mansion
MRS Hinch last week revealed that she would be moving into her dream home, a sprawling five-bedroom mansion in the Essex countryside.
But the cleanfluencer wasn’t always Mrs Hinch.
Growing up as Sophie Hinchliffe, the mum-of-two battled crippling anxiety, self-doubt and her weight while working as a hairdresser.
Desperate to find a way to curb her anxiety, Sophie found solace in cleaning.
Eventually she set up her Instagram account @MrsHinchHome, where she initially posted interior inspiration and cleaning tips, sharing snaps of her famously grey aesthetic.
It took off like a rocket and in that time she’s picked up a staggering 4.2 million followers – her Hinchers – and has brands queuing up to work with her.
But how did Sophie go from a struggling hairdresser to cleaning world domination - here we chart her success…
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ANXIOUS EARLY YEARS
Long before she took over our grid and Minkys were yet to exist, Sophie worked several jobs in various different industries.
According to Influencer Matchmaker these included waitressing, working as a nursery assistant and in sales as well as qualifying as a hairdresser.
But while Sophie was succeeding on the surface, everyday she was battling her own mental health demons.
During her "early to mid-twenties", Sophie suffered from "anxiety and panic attacks" and discovered cleaning was her ultimate coping mechanism - saying "I would then get up and grab a cloth or a mop or a hoover and just start going."
Having experienced first-hand the calming powers of cleaning, Sophie would work through a to-do list of chores and found that "getting through them was so rewarding".
DRAMATIC BUT DANGEROUS TRANSFORMATION
Sophie may be known for her tumbling blonde locks and slender physique, but she previously revealed she hadn’t always looked this way.
Although life looks perfect online, in 2020 Mrs Hinch revealed insecurity over her weight led her to have a £6,000 gastric band fitted – which left her in agony needing emergency surgery.
Sophie told how she piled on the pounds in her late teens.
She said after leaving home and passing her driving test, she’d regularly hop in the car to get takeaways at McDonald’s Drive-Thrus.
She said: “Before I knew it, I was eating for what felt like eating’s sake. I was getting pizzas and deliveries. I love food, even now.”
Mrs Hinch revealed that shopping became a struggle, and she wore baggy clothes as much as possible to “fit in”.
She ended up hitting rock bottom when she couldn’t fit in a ride at a fairground and said: “It hit me… the stares, the way people look at you.”
Desperate to change the way she looked, the part-time hairdresser took out a loan for £6,000 and got the gastric band fitted at the age of 21– but it ended up being disastrous.
Two years after it was inserted, she was left in crippling pain after it slipped and ended up being lodged in her oesophagus.
Sophie revealed she was admitted to hospital and underwent an emergency operation to move it back up.
The cleaning whizz says the gastric band is still inside her, but is now unclipped so doesn’t work.
Sophie regrets having done it in the first place, and said: “The surgery works for some people. But for me, if I had known the complications and the risks, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Although she did experience a dramatic eight-stone weight loss while the band was fitted correctly, she was left with excess skin on her arms, and had an operation in 2016 to remove it.
Matters got worse when she was left with an infection from the surgery and at one point feared she would lose her left arm – but thankfully antibiotics managed to get it under control.
She added: “Body shaming angers me, because even if you lose the weight you never forget the comments. I’m still not 100 per cent confident with my body but I’m getting there.”
MRS HINCH IS BORN
After meeting her husband Jamie Hinchliffe ,41, who was known as Mr Hinch in the sales department they both worked in, Sophie picked up the nickname Mrs Hinch.
He popped the question on their fourth anniversary together and the pair married at Gosfield Hall in Essex in 2018.
The couple had a fairytale wedding with little quirks, including each of the tables named after a Beyoncé song such as Drunk in Love and Love on Top.
And while Mrs Hinch’s bridal gown was pure glamour, she added some humble touches in the form of her accessories including jewellery purchased in Next and a pair of flat ballet shoes.
The couple had their first dance to Brian McKnight and Mariah Carey – Whenever You Call.
The couple have since welcomed two sons, Ronnie who was born in June 2019, and Lennie who arrived in May last year.
RAKING IT IN
With a strong brand name and a passion for cleaning, Sophie set up her Instagram account @mrshhinchhome in 2018.
Initially sharing organising and interior tips, the mum’s account quickly took off after she appeared on This Morning six months later, catapulting her to fame.
Just a month after her TV appearance, her Instagram account reached one million followers and has continued to grow ever since.
In 2020, the cleanfluencer filed her accounts for the first time, and they revealed that she pulled in £2.1million and was owed another £200,000.
Her income came mostly from cleaning brands such as Flash and Febreze which pay her up to £5,000 a post to plug their products.
The 31-year-old also has income from four books, including a memoir called This is Me.
At the time she owed creditors £764,000, leaving her with profits of more than £1.5million, for that tax year making her the second highest paid cleanfluencer in the world after Marie Kondo.
Research revealed Mrs Hinch rakes in an average of £5,900 each time she posts on social media.
The cleanfluencer is now thought to be worth an estimated £1 million, according to End of Tenancy Cleaning London.
Sophie also owes her fortune to the launch of her book Hinch Yourself Happy which sold 160,000 copies in the UK in just three days, topping the Amazon’s best-seller list even before its launch.
She followed that up with her second tome, Mrs Hinch: The Activity Journal, before releasing her Sunday Times No 1 Best Seller memoir entitled: "This is Me" in October 2020.
In 2021 Sophie added a Tesco homeware range to her repertoire, offering fans the chance to nab her beloved grey accessories and cosy loungewear sets.
HOME SWEET HOME
In January this year, Sophie revealed that the Hinchliffes would be making a move to their aptly named Hinch Farm.
The family were forced to move to the secluded £1.1million, five-bedroom home in Essex after a secret war with the neighbours.
The family bought the property a couple of months ago but have been unable to share details of it until security measures were put in place.
She is now setting up home at the aptly named Hinch Farm, a stunning property surrounded by countryside which the mum-of-two – real name Sophie Hinchcliffe – is planning to keep animals on.
The detached white front property has perfectly manicured lawns that circle the home.
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It boasts large open rooms with bay windows and French doors that lead onto the patio.
She already has big plans for the place, and is set to knock down a couple of walls off the kitchen to create a utility space.