NEW START
Rich House, Poor House millionaire offers lifeline mentoring job to struggling single mum living on £50 a week
A STRUGGLING mum living on £53 a week, who had to give up her job during the pandemic, was offered a lifeline by a rags-to-riches millionaire on Rich House, Poor House.
Jodie Hannibal, from Hatfield, previously had a job as a youth worker before she was forced to give it up to take care of her two-year-old son Jodieson as she couldn’t afford childcare.
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Left with just over £50 a week in benefits after rent and bills, Jodie was eager to see how the other half lives as she swapped homes with entrepreneur Ayo Gordon in this week’s episode of the Channel 5 show.
Ayo lives in a luxury apartment in Battersea overlooking the Chelsea Harbour, and has a cool £1,500 of disposable income to play with per week.
Despite their lives being worlds apart, Ayo actually had a similar start in life to Jodie.
After growing up on a council estate he was forced into care when his mum went to prison, but after buying his first home eight years ago, he now has a property portfolio worth £6 million.
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But despite his humble beginnings, Ayo struggles to get to grips with Jodie’s humble budget.
Joined by business partner Patrick, Ayo admits that they will struggle to feed themselves with a budget of £5 each a day.
The pair quickly blow £30 on food on the first day, and spend the remainder of the week offering to wash cars in order to scrape together extra cash to feed themselves.
Realising the extent of Jodie’s financial struggle, Ayo offers to help her out with his mentoring services that assist people in debt to get back into the black.
When they finally meet, Ayo tells Jodie: "I'd love to give you the opportunity and get you to the point where you could obviously be making the extra money that you need to make."
Amazed, Jodie says: "That's amazing, I really appreciate that.”
Patrick adds: "You've got absolutely every too. You can talk, which means you can sell."
Away from Ayo, Jodie says: "To have somebody who could potentially mentor or guide me in the right way to build myself and become successful makes me feel really happy because at the moment I just feel lost."
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TV viewers were moved by the moment, and said Jodie deserved the break, with one writing: “I think Jodie is such a genuine person, has far better morals than many and I wish her all the best for the future.”
Earlier in the show, Jodie was delighted when she swapped her £53 a week benefits for a £1,500 weekly budget.
However, quickly found that the high life was not for her, admitting that she’d much rather have a sausage sandwich over a private chef.
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But she is less than impressed when she and friend Leah enlist a five-star private chef to cater for them on their final evening.
The menu consists of lobster nuggets, curry mayonnaise served with roasted red pepper, which Jodie admits she’s “nervous” to eat despite the chef reassuring her it is like “posh spam.”
Tucking in she says: “I don't like it at all.”
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Jodie refuses to try the following course of ceviche, and insists on eating her lamb with a hunk of bread.
She and Leah finish things off with a creme brulee each, but Jodie admits she wouldn’t hurry back to haute cuisine.
She asks Leah: “Do you prefer the food you've had tonight or do you prefer all the food you've had at mine, you know the basic sausage sandwich?
“The only way I'd have a personal chef is if they could nail my shepherds pie recipe.”
While the food wasn’t too her liking, Jodie enjoyed being able to treat Jodieson, taking him to a zoo and splashing out on a tablet for her tot.
Reflecting on the week, Jodie adds: “Although they've got fancy cars and a fancy apartment, I still feel like I'm the richer one as I've got my child, and that's better than money can buy.”
Rich House, Poor House aired tonight at 9pm on Channel 5
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Previously, a struggling dad desperate to see kids breaks down in tears as millionaire offers £24k lifeline on Rich House, Poor House.
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In a previous episode, a couple who live off £75 a week clear £18k debt after swapping with wealthy property gurus on Rich House, Poor House.
Single mum on benefits ditches the private chef for a sausage sandwich on Rich House, Poor House