Tulia Contostavlos has revealed she had a ‘gut feeling she’d lose it all’ during her drug sting nightmare.
The singer, 37, found fame in the hip-hop trio N-Dubz in 2000, with the group going on to achieve huge success with two platinum-certified albums.
Tulisa eventually parted ways with them in 2011, going on to land the coveted role of X-Factor judge at the age of 22 and remains the youngest judge in the show’s history.
She was hired by Simon Cowell to replace Cheryl Cole and guided Little Mix to victory, who have gone on to become one of the most successful girl groups in the world.
But at the height of her career in 2013, she was caught up in a drugs scandal when she was arrested on suspicion of supplying class-A drugs.
The scandal ended up costing her brand deals and endorsements, even though the case against the singer was dropped in 2014.
Tulia Contostavlos has revealed she had a ‘gut feeling she’d lose it all’ during her drug sting nightmare
At the height of her career in 2013, she was caught up in a drugs scandal when she was arrested on suspicion of supplying class-A drugs
Appearing on Davina McCall’s podcast Begin Again on Thursday, Tulisa detailed how her life turned completely upside down
Appearing on Davina McCall’s podcast Begin Again on Thursday, Tulisa detailed how her life turned completely upside down.
When asked if she was a big spender by Davina, the singer replied: ‘I was definitely a saver compared to the people around me, but I liked a nice house, and I liked cars. Other than that, I wasn’t a spender.
‘Like I wasn’t out buying Louis Vuitton bags, designer clothes. I wasn’t interested.’
‘I’m just trying to set up the scene before your life implodes,’ Davina explained.
Tulisa replied: ‘Well, actually, before my life imploded, I was going for the dream house, thinking, I’ve got this, I’ve got this job, I’ve got all these other massive brand deals.
‘I put down like half a million quid deposit on this house. But I hadn’t completed it yet. So, I was due to complete in the next couple of months.
‘And because the sting hit, the way the contract worked, I lost my half a million pound deposit and my house.
‘If I had just completed it, but I couldn’t complete now because I didn’t have the money to pay the mortgage, because all my brand deals and endorsements were frozen instantly.
She said: ‘I put down like half a million quid deposit on this house. But I hadn’t completed it yet. So, I was due to complete in the next couple of months.
The star continued: ‘And then I knew I had a million quid in legal bills. And then no future income’
‘And then I knew I had a million quid in legal bills. And then no future income.’
The star continued: ‘And you know what the weird thing was when I was in that house? Let me tell you something.
‘I always get a sense for things. I was like, ‘This is not mine’. I had this overwhelming feeling like I’ve got all this stuff and I’m going to lose it. I’m going to lose it.
‘This is not my home. All of this, it’s like I knew, I had this weird sense that I was going to lose everything.’
‘What happened with the trail… There are some things we can create and kind of lead on, and there are some things written on the wall,’ she added.
Tulisa nearly spent four years in prison after she was arrested on suspicion of supplying class A drugs.
Mazher Mahmood, also known as the Fake Sheikh, tricked her into giving him a contact from whom he bought £800 worth of cocaine.
The former journalist for the Sun on Sunday claimed she had organised a deal to sell him drugs while he was posing as a wealthy film producer.
In 2013, the singer was charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, with her trial being held the following year at Southwark Crown Court (pictured)
Mazher Mahmood, also known as the Fake Sheik, a former journalist for the Sun on Sunday was jailed for 15 months for perverting the course of justice after he tricked Tulisa into buying cocaine for him while he posed as a film producer
The case went to court, but Mahmood was accused of tampering with evidence and the case against Tulisa collapsed. Mahmood was later tried on related charges and sentenced to 15 months in prison.
At the time, Tulisa insisted: ‘Let me be perfectly clear. I have never dealt drugs and I have never been involved in taking or dealing cocaine. This whole case was a horrific and disgusting entrapment by Mazher Mahmood.’
The following ten years were ‘hell’ for Tulisa, who had an entire future ahead of her ruined by the sting.
Tulisa is leaving no stone unturned in her upcoming autobiography, detailing her battle with addiction, two suicide attempts and her sex tape scandal.
She vowed to be ‘brutally honest’ in the tome, titled Judgement: Love, Trials and Tribulations, and has stayed true to her word.
According to The Mirror, the N-Dubz star charts her ‘year from hell’ amid her drug sting trial, which led to two suicide attempts.
She penned of the day she found out she was going to be charged on suspicion of being involved with the supply of Class A drugs: ‘Why is this happening to me?
‘What’s the point in being alive just to be miserable? How am I ever going to find happiness after this? Even if I’m found innocent, I’ll be empty inside by the time I get to the end of it, and my life will be ruined.’
Tulisa is leaving no stone unturned in her upcoming autobiography, detailing her battle with addiction, two suicide attempts and her sex tape scandal
Thankfully, she was found by former best friend Gareth Varey who called an ambulance after finding her in her bathroom surrounded by empty packets of sleeping pills.
While Tulisa was revived, she made a second attempt on her life months later amid her trial, which resulted in her being hospitalised for three days.
Throughout any challenging times, Tulisa would try and comfort herself by locking herself in the bathroom.
She explained: ‘When I was a child, the bathroom was the only room in my house with a lock. I had always locked myself in there in times of distress, whether it was because my parents were going at it like two bulls in a china shop again, or my mentally ill mother was going off the rails. It had always been my place of safety.
‘And twenty years later, here I was: back lying on the bathroom floor. Deep-rooted issues, I suppose. When the sex tape had come out, I had slept on the bathroom floor for five days.’
Released by Blink Publishing for Bonnier Books UK, Judgement is now available to purchase.
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