12 September 2023 , 09:46
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Cheryl Baker has denied rumours that she's selling her Kent mansion because she's broke, after previously revealing that the cost-of-living crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic had made money 'tight'.
The Fizz singer and her husband Steven Stroud recently put their £1.4 million pad on the market, having made the decision to relocate to a smaller property now that their twin daughters, Kayla and Natalie, are all grown up.
Cheryl, whose band won the Eurovision for the UK in 1981, purchased the six-bedroom house near Tonbridge in 2011 after previously residing in a seven-bedroom abode in Sevenoaks. Prior to this, she and her family lived in a modest three-bedroom Oast house in Seal Chart. Cheryl's recent downsizing has sparked reports that she's struggling financially, but she insists that this isn't true.
Cheryl Baker has squashed rumours she's selling her £1.4m Kent home because she's broke (REX/Shutterstock)"I’m not ‘poor Cheryl’, I’m just ordinary. I’m the same as everybody," she told the Sun on Monday, before adding, "I have bills to pay and I need to earn a living to pay the bills." The 69-year-old went on to reveal she's never been unemployed, nor has she ever "been on the dole."
Cheryl, who reached the finals of ITV's 'Popstar to Operastar' in 2011, goes on to explain that she isn't fussy about how she makes income - as long as she doesn't have to rely on anyone else to make ends meet.
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"I’ve never asked for a handout because I work, and I don’t care what job I do," she explained. "That has been my ethos ever since I left school." It remains unknown where Cheryl plans to move to, but by the sounds of it, she and husband Steve are on the hunt for something a little cozier.
Cheryl Baker with her husband Steven and their two twin daughters outside their lush family home in 2009 (REX/Shutterstock)“I want to downsize because Steve and I are getting on a bit and we don’t need such a big house, plus I don’t want a mortgage any more," she said, before insisting she doesn't "need all these bedrooms" at her age. Their sprawling garden - which even has an apple orchard - is also proving to be too high maintenance for Steve, who's "had enough of mowing it."
Cheryl, who was raised in a council flat in Bethnal Green, has previously admitted she made a major mistake in purchasing two holiday homes on Sal in Cape Verde in 2006 and 2007. "I thought I would be able to sell the apartment a few years later and use my profit towards paying the balance on the new house, but of course the property market crashed and suddenly I couldn't give them away," she told the Telegraph in 2011.