THE cast of Made In Chelsea are noted for their appreciation of the finer things in life: designer clothes, fine champagne and homes in the most sought after postcodes.
It’s as though the stars of the reality series have access to a pile of millions in the bank that miraculously replenishes no matter how much they spend.
Made In Chelsea first came to our screens in May 2011Credit: Handout
Ashley James was in the original castCredit: Getty
Perhaps that’s the problem.
For many, the great pile of money just doesn’t exist. But having found fame in a series where they’ve had to act rich some have fallen foul from the pressure of trying to live up to it.
As the E4 reality series turns 15, many of the cast are flat broke, or up to their neck in debt – despite coming across as toffs and business geniuses.
One of them even tried to blag a free cake for their kid’s birthday party, it’s that bad.
Take Ollie Locke, who was one of the OGs who on the Channel 4 show.
Ollie, 39, his husband Gareth, 37, and their two-year-old twins, Apollo and Cosima, lived in a beautiful £4million four-storey Georgian Chelsea townhouse, as you would expect of the stars of Made in Chelsea.
It was perfect.
Then in February this year the illusion shattered when they were evicted after failing to pay a £45k bill reportedly made up of three months rent, fines and legal costs.
Ollie Locke and husband Gareth in the London house they have been evicted fromCredit: Boomin Property
Ollie and Gareth spent thousands on IVF Credit: Rex
It was reported that another tenant at the property had been paying Ollie and Gareth, but instead of giving the money to the landlord, they’d used the cash to fund their luxury lifestyle.
Gareth has claimed there was a fourth lodger at the property who failed to pay their share and left the couple in the lurch – a claim they refute.
Ollie has been involved in various successful ventures, such as a gay dating app, Chappy, which he set up in 2016, and he’s the author of two children’s books.
But it seems to have been a case of living beyond his means. He has previously spoken of spending £500,000 on IVF before the birth of twins Cosima and Apollo, now two, via a surrogate.
Last month, after losing the rented home, Ollie admitted in an interview: “I feel horrendous. Not only with different friends who are showing their true colours and have broken my heart, but physically, I have been the most depressed I have been in my entire life.”
Then there’s Miles Nazaire. Miles, 30, certainly looks rich, with his crisp linen shirts and expensive watches.
The personal trainer and influencer, who sells online workout plans and posts regularly without his crisp linen shirt on, is currently living it up in Dubai.
His company, LGI Productions, reportedly collapsed into liquidation last July owing almost £100,000 in debts, including £47,000 in unpaid VAT and £38,000 in overdue corporation tax.
Miles Nazaire, left, with Sam Prince on Made in Chelsea, has had money difficulties Credit: EPA
Miles Nazaire’s company has reportedly collapsed into liquidation Credit: Alamy
Miles, though, is gamely keeping up appearances and is still posting on Instagram from Dubai.
So what’s gone wrong?
Bhavisha Soni, Chartered Wealth Planner at Succession Wealth, says there can indeed be pressure for reality stars such as those in Made in Chelsea to keep up appearances.
“Reality TV can accelerate lifestyle inflation very quickly,” she says.
“Individuals suddenly move into circles where expensive travel, property, fashion and hospitality become normalised and there can be pressure to keep up socially and professionally.
“There is also often an assumption from the public that TV fame automatically means long-term financial security, when in reality media income can be unpredictable and short-lived.
“Some individuals may experience a sharp increase in earnings early on without necessarily having the financial education or structures in place to manage it sustainably.”
Television presenter Ashley James, 38, who appeared on the show in 2012 and 2013, said earlier this year that the pay for appearing on Made in Chelsea was dire.
She thought it would make her fortune but she was ‘the poorest she has ever been’ and was paid just £50 per filming session.
“One of the things that motivated me to say ‘yes’ to Made in Chelsea initially was the idea that it would make me very rich,” she said.
“And yet I was the poorest I’ve ever been when I was on that show.
“The irony wasn’t lost on me that I was on a show about really rich people while living in my friend’s childhood home, deep in my overdraft.”
MIC is supposedly about toffs, but stars like Ashley James, Ollie Locke and Miles Nazaire don’t come from privileged backgrounds.
Spencer comes from a wealthy familyCredit: PA
He is the child of a self-made multi-millionaire
Ashley was raised on a farm in Northumberland and Ollie comes from an ordinary family in Southampton. Miles’ family are artistic – his dad’s a musician and his mum is a sculptor – but they’re not mega rich.
Some of the stars of MIC, of course, do come from wealthy families, such as Spencer Matthews, 37, who was on the show from 2011 to 2015.
His dad, David Matthews, is a self-made multi-millionaire who made his fortune in property and hotels.
Jamie Laing, 37, who had a long stint from 2011 to 2020, is an example of the stereotypical star of MIC, coming from inherited wealth. His great-great-grandfather, Sir Alexander Grant, invented the McVitie’s biscuit in 1892.
The most striking case of riches to rags among the Made in Chelsea crew is perhaps that of personal trainer Lonan O’Herlihy, known as The Posh PT.
In March this year, Lonan, 34, who appeared on series 8 of the show, was reportedly left with £2m costs after losing a legal battle for a £5million share of the estate of his mother’s former partner.
Lonan’s mum, Pamela, was in a relationship with Hugh Taylor, a wealthy businessman, between 1995 and 2003, and he and his stepfather were close.
It was undoubtedly, though, a long time ago.
Ashley James, pictured in 2014, says she was the poorest she has ever been when she appeared in Made in Chelsea
Lonan O’Herlihy failed in his court bid for a £5m share of the fortune of Hugh Taylor, his mum Pamela’s former partnerCredit: James Gourley
Mr Taylor died in 2019, leaving the bulk of his £38.5million estate to his widow, Jennifer Taylor, who he married in 2010. Lonan made a claim for a £5million share of the estate.
On the list of the things he fancied were a £3million flat in South Kensington and a luxury Patek Philippe watch.
He also requested Mr Taylor’s iconic Mercedes 280SL Pagoda, worth £250,000.
Lawyers for Mrs Taylor accused him of drawing up “a wishlist of greed”; his case was rejected.
But things are looking up at least for Tabitha Willett, 33, who first appeared on the show in 2018.
Tabitha used to work as a marketing director at the private members club, Alberts, in Chelsea, where she hooked up with the club’s co-owner, Fraser Carruthers.
They had a daughter together in 2019, but split up a year later.
But last month Tabitha announced she had married her fiance, Harry Hoare, 32, a member of a banking dynasty, at Chelsea Town Hall, in keeping with expectations.
Tabitha married businessman Harry HoareCredit: instagram/@tabitha.willett/
MIC star Tabitha was left with a hefty bill
Tabitha, who is pregnant with their first child (each has a child from previous relationships) posted a picture of their wedding at Chelsea Town Hall on April 1 on Instagram.
She announced their engagement in November last year and later wrote about the proposal in The Wedding Edition online.
It could have been a scene out of Made in Chelsea.
“We were staying at The Lana in Dubai, a new hotel and part of the Dorchester Collection, which I had been desperate to try.
“Harry said he had planned our last dinner, so I did not know where we were going, but he needed to grab something from the room first.
“When the door opened, the suite was filled with rose petals and candles, and there was a table set on the balcony overlooking the city for a private dinner.
“We sat down, he said the most beautiful words, and asked me to marry him.
“He gave me the ring without the box, which felt much more elegant, and of course I said yes.”
Binky Felstead, left, with Lonan O’Herlihy on Made in Chelsea, tried to blag a free birthday cake for her sonCredit: WENN
Reshmi Bennett, founder of Anges de Sucre, refused to make a free cake for Binky FelsteadCredit: The Times
But, before her happy ending, Tabitha has had troubles of her own.
In 2024, she found herself embroiled in a row over a carpet her dog had peed on at her rented £1.8million flat in Kensington, West London.
Central London County Court heard in October 2024 that the King Charles Spaniel had urinated on the carpet, leaving a “deep pee stain” and Tabitha was ordered to pay £4,749 to compensate for damage to the £9,000 carpet.
In February it was reported she still owed her former landlord £11,107 in unpaid damages and rent.
Reality stars and influencers are used to getting lots of freebies and Binky Felstead, 35, who starred in the first season of Made in Chelsea until 2017, is no exception.
In April this year, it emerged she’d asked Reshmi Bennett, who runs luxury bakery Anges de Sucre, to make a third birthday cake for her son, Wilder.
When Reshmi refused and posted about the request, another baker came forward saying she’d made Binky’s wedding cake and a birthday cake in 2021, but received none of the promised publicity in return.
Binky then promised to pay for the cakes.
The constant round of freebies may be another problem for reality stars.
They get used to being surrounded by luxurious items, which gives them the impression of being rich, but don’t have the money to pay the rent.
“Social media can create the appearance of wealth without necessarily reflecting genuine financial security,” says Bhavisha Soni.
“Influencers may receive gifted experiences, clothes, travel or hospitality, but those perks do not always translate into stable income or long-term wealth.
“A curated online lifestyle can blur the line between perception and reality.
“Rent, mortgages, tax bills and debt repayments cannot be paid with gifted products or social media visibility.”
Perhaps the stars of the latest series of Made In Chelsea should take note.