EXCLUSIVE ‘I was stripped back and vulnerable’: Model and actress Ellie Gonsalves reflects on being homeless for 10 days and recalls sleeping with ‘cockroaches crawling’ on her
She’s forged a successful career as an actress, model and brand ambassador.
But for 10 days, Ellie Gonsalves swapped privilege for life on the streets to draw attention to homelessness in Australia, in SBS’ third season of Filthy Rich & Homeless.
Ahead of the show’s premiere on Tuesday, the 29-year-old told Daily Mail Australia that she went into the experience ‘stripped back and vulnerable’.
EXCLUSIVE ‘I was stripped back and vulnerable’: Model and actress Ellie Gonsalves (pictured), 29, swapped privilege for 10 days on the street, in SBS’ third season of Filthy Rich & Homeless
With a following of over one million on Instagram, it’s easy to assume Ellie leads a picture-perfect life.
However, the star said that while many are aware of the ‘exciting side’ to her life, she has never gone about trying to prove any misconceptions wrong.
‘I’ve always shared a lot of the challenging times too,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Challenging social experiment: Ahead of the show’s premiere on Tuesday, Ellie said she found ‘isolation’ the worst part
‘I try not to live my life proving others’ preconceptions of me wrong, but I went into this experience the most stripped back and vulnerable I’ve ever been.
‘Whether it sheds any preconceptions or creates completely new ones who knows, but I’m proud of being involved in this, and I hope others see it for what it was all about.’
Ellie found the 10 days of homelessness certainly challenging, as would many, describing ‘isolation’ as the worst part.
Breaking point: ‘I don’t think I hit my real breaking point until I was put in a boarding house with nine men on my last three days,’ she recalled
‘I don’t think I hit my real breaking point until I was put in a boarding house with nine men on my last three days,’ she recalled.
‘My outhouse bathroom windows were smashed, my toilet door did not lock or close, and I had cockroaches crawling on me in my sleep.
‘I’ve never felt so scared, withdrawn and uncomfortable in my life,’ she continued.
Conditions: ‘My outhouse bathroom windows were smashed, my toilet door did not lock or close, and I had cockroaches crawling on me in my sleep,’ Ellie revealed
Ellie decided to take part in the TV series, acknowledging she has a ‘voice and a large platform’ to create change within society or at least raise awareness.
‘The last census showed there are 116,000 people sleeping rough in Australia,’ she said. ‘More than 40 per cent experiencing homelessness are women and more than 15,000 children under the age of 12 don’t have a home.’
Ellie added that she doesn’t take ‘the tiny things for granted’ such as a ‘safe place to sleep, access to a toilet and running water, privacy and a bed to sleep on’.
Filthy Rich & Homeless airs June 9 to 11 at 8.30pm on SBS
Grateful: Ellie added that she doesn’t take ‘the tiny things for granted’ such as a ‘safe place to sleep, access to a toilet and running water, privacy and a bed to sleep on’