Survivor star reveals popstar past and how divorce left her feeling 'worthless'
17.11.2023 - 18:56
/ ok.co.uk
Survivor UK contestant Leilani Sen may describe herself as a barista and cleaner on the BBC One competition, however the 45 year old has revealed that she once climbed the music charts as a pop singer in the '90s, which she kept a secret from her fellow contestants. The Hertfordshire-based mum was best known for her 1999 single Madness Sing and later released two more hits, Do You Want Me and Flying Elvis the following year before retiring to "find domestic bliss". Speaking to OK! in an exclusive interview, Leilani revealed that she decided to sign up for Survivor - hosted by Joel Dommett - after splitting from her husband of 20 years.
"I had left my husband a year ago, and basically, I was a single mum. I'd achieved so much in that year," she said. "It's very brave to leave the 20 year marriage, and it's very ballsy.
And the things that I was tackling in my personal life, I was basically in fight or flight mode. "I used to be a pop singer back in the nineties, and my friend just was like, 'You're not done. You've just got so much fire in your belly.' She was like, You've got to go for Survivor.' And I was like, 'OK,' so I filled out the form and thank God I got on the show." Speaking about her singing career, Leilani said that she was signed to a record deal at the age of 19 and started performing on shows like SMTV with Ant McPartlin, Declan Donnelly and Cat Deeley.
"I toured with Boyzone and Westlife, I did the Smash Hits tour - really iconic stuff. It was a privilege to do that," she says. "I was a solo artist so I was pretty lonely by the end of it and I needed to find some sort of community.
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