‘I was making so much money I bought 5ive of my girlfriends £500 gold vibrators but then I went bankrupt’: Abz Love’s advice to cash-strapped Katie Price
A LONDON penthouse, a wardrobe crammed with over £10,000 of Louis Vuitton clobber and a stream of beautiful girlfriends - as a star of one of the world's most popular boy bands, I've had all the trappings of success.
But I've also been bankrupt, reduced to sofa-surfing and living in a caravan.
Reading this week that Katie Price has squandered her £45 million fortune brought my own financial downfall back to me. We both rose to fame in our teens – and nobody warned me that when the millions come in quickly, they can vanish just as fast.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Along with my 5ive bandmates Sean, Ritchie, Scott and J, we sold over 20 million records. We were 90s icons, signed by Simon Cowell, and sold out all of our arena tours. In fact, I used to hang out in the same swanky clubs as Katie then.
But in 2001, it all came falling down, and 10 years later, I was declared bankrupt.
I wish somebody had been there to warn me that my extravagant lifestyle would leave me sleeping on the floor, eating 2-for-1 Big Macs from MacDonald’s and borrowing money from my mum.
In my heyday, I bought five of my girlfriends limited edition, gold vibrators worth £500 each.
But once the money dries up and you can’t treat them, they leave.
One moment, you’re driving the most expensive cars, like Katie’s custom pink Land Rover, and the next, you’ve got bailiffs knocking on your door.
If you ignore the warning signs, like mounting bills, you can be skint overnight.
Spending cash on nice things will always leave you wanting more. Money is a trap and Katie needs to get out – and fast.
She needs to ditch the hangers-on and stop spending on clothes and cars, because the money goes so quickly and you have nothing to show for it.
Gold diggers and golden vibrators
I used to go out with glamorous women, and it was all about the “who?” and the “where?” I’d take the best looking girls to restaurants like the Ritz, and to nightclubs like Nobu, where a bottle of champagne can cost up to £800.
They don’t stick around when you’re too skint to get a bank card. It doesn’t happen overnight, but when they ask: “Can we go out?” and you don’t have the money to treat them to an expensive meal, they’ll soon slope off.
I keep my circle really tight now. After splitting with my girlfriend Vicky Fallon last year, I won’t be looking for love again until I’ve landed on my feet financially.
Hangers-on are so hard to spot, too. If you have the kind of money that Katie did, you need a pre-nup.
When you’re in the moment, it’s hard to know whether the person you’re with is the real deal, but if you’ve got a pre-nup you can afford to wait around to find out.
Hey, big spender
When the money first came in, it was amazing, but looking back, we had nobody to help us.
I came from no money. My mama didn’t have any money and my dad didn’t have a clue - and if you earn that sort of money overnight, you go nuts.
I was 16 when I hit the big time and I went crazy.
I came from a broken background, and then overnight the money started rolling in. I went into any shop and bought anything I wanted – three or four of the same item in different colours.
I’d go into Louis Vuitton with £5,000 in each pocket and come out with a suitcase I didn’t need. It was stupid.
It was wild and reckless. I loved designer shops like Louis Vuitton, Selfridges, and Harrods.
I had a flat in London’s Docklands that was just left empty. I randomly bought a warehouse I didn’t use. I spent at least £1 million in five years, but had nothing to show for it.
Buy your mama house - you'll end up back there
I got to the point where my accountant started calling me separately from the other boys in 5ive because I was blowing so much cash. One time I remember he asked me what I had spent all of my money on and I had absolutely no idea.
When you can’t afford to pay your mortgage, the fact that you’ve got a wardrobe full of designer clothes isn’t going to help.
I’ve heard that Katie pays £10,000 a month for her mortgage. My advice is always to buy your mama a nice house before your own, because you’ll probably end up back there.
Luckily I didn’t have children, it was just me, but if a friend hadn’t taken me in, I would have been homeless.
When I finally did go bankrupt, I was so out of it that I didn’t answer my phone, or any letter, and I slept on the floor of my flat.
It was a penthouse, but I didn’t have any furniture, or even cutlery to eat with.
My accountant had to give me £100 every four weeks to live on after that. It was embarrassing. Going from a superstar to broke is a big come down.
Going to Nobu but eating at Maccy D's
It’s so much worse when you find yourself bankrupt when you’re famous. You try and live the same lifestyle as you have before, but you can’t even affords taxis home from the nightclub.
I’d still go to Nobu, but walk home afterwards, and grab a 2-for-1 Big Mac and a coke on the way.
I’m not in a position to give Katie the best financial advice, but I have been through it, and do you know what? Spending all comes down to pride and wanting to keep up appearances.
It all looks glamorous from the outside, but people forget that celebrities still have bills to pay. They’ve got a mortgage, their car is usually rented, and they have their own stuff going on.
After I hit rock bottom, I moved to Wales and tried to start over.
I bought a plot of land, a caravan, with geese, pigs, alpacas, horses and five dogs.
I was still being stupid with money - I had two horses and they only ate organic. They ate better than me! The rural life wasn't for me though. I was going stir crazy and started writing songs about chickens.
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Running away isn’t the answer.
The best thing Katie can do is to start an Ebay account. I sold my Brit award on Ebay for £5000 it saved me financially.
I tried to flog my other band memorabilia but nobody wanted it. It was all about One Direction instead.
Now I still treat myself to small designer items sometimes, but I know that money doesn’t buy happiness – going bankrupt was a massive learning curve for me, and it’ll be the making of Katie.