CBB’s Chesney Hawkes, 53, revealed he blew £8.2m fortune on ‘crazy’ lifestyle in his heyday – yet has taken ‘low’ £25k appearance fee on show for ‘exposure not cash’

Chesney Hawkes entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on Monday night, having netted a reported £25,000 appearance fee. 

And while the hitmaker – famed for his 1991 hit The One And Only – is said to be in the house for fame not money, he previously shed light on his financial woes. 

Despite £8.2million from the song, which appeared in the movie Buddy’s Song, Chesney, 53, told the My Dirty Laundry podcast, that he blew the staggering sum and burned himself out with ‘utter exhaustion’ due to his ‘crazy’ lifestyle. 

Chesney entered the house in a flurry, joking about his love of nudity and his famous hit, after being dubbed a ‘novelty booking’ and being paid the second lowest – just above TOWIE’s Ella Rae Wise, who has been paid £20,000. 

Last year, he confessed his hedonistic life led to losing the dramatic sum, after blowing his cash – meaning his Big Brother sum is no doubt a welcome cash infusion. 

Chesney Hawkes entered the Celebrity Big Brother house on Monday night, having netted a reported £25,000 appearance fee – following an admission of past money troubles 

And while the hitmaker – famed for his 1991 hit The One And Only – is said to be in the house for fame not money, he previously shed light on his financial woes (pictured in 1991)

Despite £8.2million from the song, which appeared in the movie Buddy’s Song, Chesney, 53, told the My Dirty Laundry podcast , that he blew the staggering sum and burned himself out with ‘utter exhaustion’ due to his ‘crazy’ lifestyle 

Chesney joined the likes of Mickey Rourke, Jack P Shepherd and Patsy Palmer in entering the famous house on Monday, to the delight of CBB fans. 

Prior to the show’s launch, the stars’ appearance fees were reported, with claims that Mickey has had a £480k payday and Jojo Siwa is being paid £400k. 

Chesney meanwhile is said to be the second lowest, however insiders allege he is appearing on the show for exposure not for cash, despite his previously precarious financial status at the hands of his poor choices.  

During his appearance on the podcast, he admitted he can relate to fellow stars Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran and urged young people in the industry to ‘be careful and make sure they don’t burn out like he did.’

He admitted: ‘I did that classic thing when I first made it of just blowing everything. I bought a state of the art studio. I bought everyone in my family a car. So yeah, we had fun. 

‘My brother Jodie is my drummer and he was with me through the whole time. And yeah, we enjoyed it, because we were young. We were 19 and 17, and we toured all over the world – America, Japan, it was an amazing time.

Chesney entered the house in a flurry, joking about his love of nudity and his famous hit, after being dubbed a ‘novelty booking’ and being paid the second lowest – just above TOWIE’s Ella Rae Wise, who has been paid £20,000

 Mickey Rourke is the highest paid star of the show, with a reported £480k fee 

The pop icon hit the big time with his song The One And Only and travelled the world but he was soon left £20k in debt when the work dried up (pictured in 1991) 

After becoming so burned out he fainted during an interview, Chesney said: ‘You see it with these young artists now. I remember Adele had to cancel a whole bunch of shows. Harry Styles, (left) had a similar thing. Ed Sheeran, (right), I see it happening’

‘It was like living in the eye of a storm. So I had my family and the people around me in this kind of bubble, you know? 

‘I would be thrown into the hurricane and I’d be gone. And then I’m off to Sweden and then I’m off to New York. I never knew where I was waking up for that first year.

‘It was mental. It was really crazy.’

When asked if he was referring to women or countries when he spoke about not knowing where he was waking up, he said: ‘I am saying nothing.’ 

Chesney said there is more to him than meets the eye and his lifestyle got so taxing that he suffered from ‘utter exhaustion’ and once fainted while being interviewed.

He said: ‘I see young artists make it like the way that I did nowadays. 

‘I’ve actually worked with a lot of artists that are just going through that first craziness and I always say, “Take it easy because you may burn out”. 

‘I was doing an interview in Japan and I was so tired. I hadn’t slept and whatever. I was burning candles at both ends and gigging and travelling. 

Chesney has a new album coming out called Living Arrows and will be going on tour. He’s set to perform at the Kentish Town O2 Forum on May 31 and you will also catch him performing at the Butlin’s Weekenders this summer, (pictured performing at Butlin’s)

Chesney enjoyed the trappings of early success with his brother Jodie, (left), who is the drummer in his band and they travelled the world together 

‘And I remember standing up in the middle of this interview and I just fainted. Yeah, it was just exhaustion, like complete and utter exhaustion. 

‘You see it with these young artists now. I remember Adele had to cancel a whole bunch of shows. Harry Styles had a similar thing. Ed Sheeran, I see it happening.

‘So I always give them that little, you know [nudge], just be careful, don’t let them, [the machine], burn you out.’

Chesney has previously said his income started drying up a couple of years after his initial success and his record label subsequently dropped him. 

He had bought his first home in west London and by the time he was aged 23, he was struggling to pay the mortgage and soon found himself £20k in debt. 

But he started writing songs for other people and got himself a publishing deal and his net worth is now thoguht to be about £8million again.

Now a father-of-three. Chesney has been happily married to his American wife, model Krissy since 1995 and he credits her with being a sensible influence. 

He said; ‘We’re not your usual popstar/model union. We’ve been together for, well, 28 years this year. 

Now a father-of-three. Chesney has been happily married to his American wife, model Krissy since 1995 and he credits her with being a sensible influence

He said: ‘I love her more now than I ever have.She’s pretty special and I would not be the man I am without her. And honestly, it’s difficult [for people] to keep a relationship like that, especially in this business where I’m always on tour, always away, but I absolutely adore her’ (pictured on their wedding day) 

The couple and their children, Casey, Indi and Jesse, split their time between LA and the UK but are set to live back in the UK full-time

Chesney had a second wave of success when he writing songs for other people and got himself a publishing deal – his net worth is now said to be about £8million again

‘She’s the best. I mean, I love her more now than I ever have. It’s incredible. Our relationship is just everything to me.’

‘She’s pretty special, but you know, I would not be the man I am without her. And honestly, it’s difficult [for people] to keep a relationship like that, especially in this business where I’m always on tour, always away, but I absolutely adore her.’ 

The couple and their children, Casey, Indi and Jesse, split their time between LA and the UK but are set to live back in the UK full-time.

To watch the full interview with Chesney, click here or visit @mydirtylaundrypodcast on Instagram.