Gail Porter opens up about how hair loss left her homeless and sleeping on a park bench

Gail Porter may be an ambassador for hair loss, encouraging others to stand proud but this wasn’t always the case for the TV presenter.

Since losing her hair back in 2005 to alopecia, a chronic condition that causes the immune system to attack the hair follicle, the former model has been through her fair share of heartache and troubles.

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For the first time in 18 years, Gail has decided to try life with a wig and has said that people don’t seem to recognise her.

Gail Porter in 1999. Pic: REX/Shutterstock

Speaking to the Daily Mail Gail, now 52, said her life went downhill both personally and professionally as soon as she lost her hair.

She described how her work began to dry up because of how she looked and said: ‘I went mad for a while. I ended up in rehab. It was a mixture of mental health problems, and I was drinking too much to block everything out.’

Over the last few years, she went through extensive hardship which led her to being briefly homeless in 2014 and at one point she had to sleep on a park bench.

Pic: Gail Porter/Instagram

Gail said: ‘I was sofa-surfing, moving between friends’ houses… The whole thing was embarrassing because I didn’t want to tell anyone I had nowhere to go. I spent one night on Hampstead Heath.’

Gail has since gotten back on her feet and her career has taken off again, following a stint on Celebrity Big Brother in 2015, proving that she is a fighter no matter what.

Pic: Gail Porter/Instagram

She recorded a documentary for the BBC about her mental health, called Being Gail Porter, and she is currently touring the UK with her new comedy show Hung, Drawn And Portered.

In recent months the star has been fitted with her first proper wig, one that she believes makes her look like her old self however, she admits that many people who know her are so used to her being bald they don’t recognise her with hair!

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