Lisa Appleton gorged on 50 sausages a day to overcome her battle with depression.
The 48-year-old television personality split from her previous partner Mario Marconi – whom she starred on ‘Big Brother’ with back in 2008 –
three years ago, and was forced to move into council accommodation after an alleged fraudster made off with a large sum of money the former couple had put forward to make a new show.
Lisa admits she turned to food as a "comfort" and would eat as many of the meat treats as she could stomach.
Speaking to Closer magazine about her struggle, the buxom brunette said: "I’d lost everything and I’d reached rock bottom. Sausages were my comfort food. I’d go through a few packets of Richmond sausages for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was probably 50 a day. I’d even stop off at the local chippies in Warrington a few times a day. They started to recognise me so I had to keep changing chip shops so they didn’t know I was there every day."
The reality star – who has 27-year-old daughter Sophia from a previous relationship – has admitted she was known in her hometown for "always" shoving a sausage in her mouth because her tight budget meant the pork product was the only food she could afford.
She explained: "I was on a strict budget but I could afford sausages. I would have bangers and mash most days with onion gravy, sausage toasties or sausage and mushy peas. Ask anyone in Warrington, I always had a sausage in my mouth."
Although Lisa has got over her depression and learned not to eat to control her emotions, she hasn’t lost her appetite for sausages because she loves the "meatiness".
She said: "I loved the texture of sausages – the way it crunches when you bite into the meatiness."