Who is Austin Armacost? American model who’s appeared twice on Celebrity Big Brother
FAMED for his bromance with winner James Hill in 2015, Austin Armacost was desperate for a second bite at the Celebrity Big Brother cherry.
His wish came true and he made an appearance on the special 2017 edition of Celebrity Big Brother, with featured former contestants alongside some newbies. Here's the lowdown on Austin...
Who is Austin Armacost?
Austin, 29, originates from Indiana in the US and found fame in the States fronting LGBT reality show The A-List: New York.
He became known to UK audiences in 2015 on Celebrity Big Brother and established himself as a firm fans' favourite.
Austin came runner-up, but second place was more than OK for him - as he came hot on the heels of house BFF James Hill.
And he endeared himself to viewers after he shaved his head in the house in support of Gail Porter who suffers from Alopecia.
The hunky star was married to a Brit, Huddersfield-born Jake Lees, for eight years, but the pair separated in 2016.
Following the split, cut-up Austin described his heartbreak while thanking Jake for being an ‘amazing husband’ in a piece for .
He wrote: “Never did I think the time would come for Jake and I to part ways.
"Unfortunately, it is with an extremely heavy heart I acknowledge that Jake and I are splitting up.
"Will we get back together? Will this just be a temporary split? These are questions that only time will answer.”
Austin, who flirted with James Hill during his time on CBB, praised Jake for being there for him no matter what – during the “darkest times” in his life.
In a haunting blog post in December 2016, Austin shared a chilling “date rape” experience when he feared he had contract HIV.
He wrote: “I knew within a few minutes that he had drugged me and during the time I was out of it he had had sex with me. Without me being aware of it.”
Austin described locking himself away in his apartment afterwards, before it even dawned on him that the man was “HIV positive”.
What happened when Austin appeared on CBB 2017?
Austin took his place with his fellow All Stars on launch night, when they had to make the decision which housemate to ‘edit out’ of the show.
He was involved in early controversy when fellow housemate Stacy Francis sparked fury from fans with a "homophobic" comment – referring to Austin as "the gay boy".
Austin was then involved in a flashpoint in the first week when he was removed from the house's living room after a furrious bust-up with Heidi Montag.
He didn't take kindly to being nominated for the first eviction and paraded around the garden in his underpants before clashing furiously with James Jordan.
A twist in the game saw him as the second housemate to be evicted, after Angie Best. He was voted the least entertaining by fellow housemates.
