The dramatic results of a complete lifestyle overhaul were on full display this week as former Big Brother contestant Chanelle Hayes made a striking return to Instagram. The 38-year-old reality TV personality, who has shed an incredible nine stone, has also embarked on a radical career change, leaving behind her student nursing role to pursue opportunities on the subscription platform OnlyFans.
A New Year and a New Look
Kicking off her year with a shopping trip to Manchester's Trafford Centre, Chanelle shared two new photos with her followers. Captioning the post, she wrote: 'Little moments like these make me smile. Easing back into the rhythm of a new year and enjoying life as it comes.' Her appearance highlighted the culmination of a years-long transformation, a journey that began after her fame on Channel 4's Big Brother in 2007.
Over the past four years, Chanelle's weight has fluctuated significantly, yo-yoing between seven and 17 stone. After years of unhappiness, she opted for a gastric sleeve operation in 2020 as a last resort. The procedure, which reduces stomach size by 70-85%, is designed to restrict food intake and has been used by other celebrities like Vanessa Feltz and James Argent.
The Surgical Journey to a New Body
The surgery proved life-changing, helping Chanelle drop from a size 18 to a size 6. She has declared she has 'no regrets', stating the operation allowed her to gain control after a lifelong struggle with harmful eating habits and body image. However, the rapid weight loss left her with excess, sagging skin, leading to further distress and a series of subsequent surgeries.
These procedures included multiple operations to remove loose skin, liposuction, and a breast reduction and uplift that took her from a G cup to a D cup. In an exclusive chat with the Daily Mail in July, Chanelle explained that while the gastric sleeve gave her newfound confidence, some insecurities remain. She detailed, 'With my sleeve, they take about 70 per cent of your stomach out... it's massively decreased... which means that I can't eat or drink as much.'
Despite the physical improvements, Chanelle insists she is finally done with going under the knife. 'For me, I would rather feel 90 per cent with my body and not undergo another operation,' she stated, acknowledging that while there's 'always room for improvement,' no one looks in the mirror and thinks they're perfect.
A Lucrative Career Pivot
This hard-won confidence and her reshaped physique have now influenced her career path. Chanelle has walked away from her nursing studies, drawn by the potential of OnlyFans. A source told The Sun that after years of dedication, the 'emotional strain' of not being able to give the level of patient care she desired became 'too much to bear.'
The source added that Chanelle received 'countless messages and requests' from fans who remembered her from her earlier modelling days, encouraging her to join the adult-content platform. This marks a significant shift from what she described as a 'respectable' healthcare career to a potentially more lucrative venture in the digital space, capping off a period of profound personal and professional change.
