STRUGGLING to get by on £80 a week, mum Katy Goff started to question how much longer she could carry on her hand to mouth life.
In desperation, she signed up to appear on Channel 5’s Rich House Poor House with her partner Luke Wellfair.
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Now the 28-year-old tells The Sun the show – which features two households with a huge wealth divide swapping homes, lifestyles and budgets for a week – changed her life forever.
Katy and Luke from Dursley, Gloucestershire lived on under £80 a week and regularly used the local food bank to feed themselves and their three-year-old son Milo.
The cash-strapped couple faced £5,000 worth of debt and were unable to find the money to get their car fixed when it broke down.
They couldn’t afford to buy much-needed furniture or any new toys for little Milo.
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The twenty-eight-year-old opened up while on the show and said she felt like a burden and was frustrated that her health was holding her back from being able to work more and support her family.
Katy said: “I was a carer and disabled and I thought this can’t be my life forever, I need something to change.
“I always wanted to go into property but I just thought no one would employ me because of my illnesses.
“It is really hard to prove to people that I am actually poorly and I kept getting fired from jobs because of my disabilities.”
Katy struggles with multiple illnesses, including fibromyalgia, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
Some days Katy explained she needs help doing things such as walking or getting out of the bath.
Since appearing on Rich House, Poor House last year, her life has changed drastically. She now works for herself as a property investor and can manage her illnesses more easily.
Before the program, tree-surgeon Luke – who worked long hours six days a week – said he was worried about taking work risks and felt like they needed to continue what they were doing in order to simply stay afloat.
Katy said: “I found it really hard to find a new job each time after I was fired.
“When I was working, people would say, ‘oh, you don’t look disabled.’
“Some days I am great but others I need help out the bath and in other things.”
‘Beyonce and Jay Z of property’
In the reality TV episode, Katy and Luke swapped their council home with a millionaire couple, Katy Wilson and Dan Eaton from Cheltenham.
The self-made millionaires call themselves the Beyonce and Jay Z of the property world.
For a week, Katy and Luke lived the millionaire’s lifestyle and were given £2,000 to spend.
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However, the couple were so used to scrimping and saving they found it almost impossible to blow the cash.
Katy said: “We had to get told you need to actually spend the money.
“We found it really hard after being used to saving for so long.
I’ve change my life around and my mindset is completely different
Katy Goff
“We are so used to saving everything we’ve got.
“On the show we didn’t have to worry about food or money and we felt like we had freedom.
“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
In another life-changing romantic twist, Luke was able to use the extra cash on the show to buy an engagement ring – although Katy reveals she’s still waiting for him to pop the question.
Behind the scenes of the show
Katy also revealed the secrets of the show, describing the long filming hours that ran from 7 am in the morning to 11 pm at night.
“The program makes it look like you can spend the £2,000 on whatever you want but they chose what you spend it on,” she said.
“They wanted us to do a shopping spree and go on a helicopter.
“The helicopter was bloody awful because I was sick but the program is all about taking risks.
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“We still had such a good time.”
Katy knew her life would change after the program and said she felt her confidence and mindset completely shift.
Katy said: “It makes me quite emotional.
“Going into property was always at the back of my mind.”
Help from mentor
Katy Wilson offered to help mentor Katy to become a property investor and save towards putting down a deposit on a house.
The generosity touched the hearts of viewers and Katy emotionally broke down into tears on the show after the life-changing offer.
Katy said: “Katy Wilson allowed me to work for myself and she mentored me in the business.
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“Now when I am having a bad health week and I previously wouldn’t have been able to go into work, I can work from home.
“Katy and Dan are paying for me to do all the courses to become qualified, one of which is worth around £15,000.”
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Katy says that the couple they swapped lifestyles with now feel like family and she and Luke are inspired by their incredible generosity.
“I just made my first property deal and I am so happy,” she said.
“I just needed a push in the right direction and it started the ball rolling.
“It didn’t happen overnight and I had to put in a lot of hard work but we are about to be in a better position financially.
I can’t believe we actually filmed the show, it still feels so surreal.
Katy Goff
Now a year later Katy is planning to give talks on how tough employment can be when managing invisible illnesses.
Katy said: “I want to show people they can turn their lives around too.”
Katy Wilson said on social media how she couldn’t be more proud of how hard Katy worked to get to where she is now a year later.
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