Jessica Alves aka Rodrigo wants another go at Big Brother 'now she's mentally well' after transitioning
LONDON, UK: Transgender model Jessica Alves has revealed she "wasn't mentally well" when she took part in 'Celebrity Big Brother' back in 2018 -- and wouldn't mind having another crack at it.
The TV personality, who is notorious for surgery addiction after spending more than a staggering £600,000 ($675,352) to alter her looks, was still known by her birth name Rodrigo when she did the show. The 39-year-old, who now calls herself Jessica, said she wanted to wear women's clothes at the time but felt she couldn't and that it was an extremely "painful" period for her. However, she would love to do 'Celebrity Big Brother' again considering the show is returning to screens next year.
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"I wasn't well at the time," Jessica told the Daily Mail. "I make transitioning look glam but it's not. If you see pictures, it was a painful time for me. I wanted to wear women's clothes but I couldn't. I wasn't in the right frame of mind."
Jessica came out as transgender in 2020 and took part in 'Brother' alongside celebrities including Kirstie Alley, Gabby Allen and Ryan Thomas, who eventually won the reality show. Her time in the house, however, was short lived after getting a formal warning from producers for using the n-word and being later ejected following a "further incident." Nonetheless, the model isn't discouraged by her past and told how she'd love to do the series again. "I would love to do Big Brother again now that I'm mentally well. I'm in a much better place and I'd love to show people the new, happier me," she said.
Jessica has been quite transparent about her transition, admitting that her secret wish to become a woman could have cost her her life. "I should have seen a psychologist but instead I self-medicated with hormones and then I was at an event having drinks and the next thing I knew I was in hospital," she told ITV's 'This Morning'. "Anyone at home who has been going through gender dysphoric disorder don’t self-medicate, go see a doctor. I live in England but I don’t do my treatment here I do it abroad because there aren't many people who do know this here," she added.
"I tried my best to be a male but failed badly because I wasn’t happy," she continued. "I carried on those plastic surgeries because I actually wanted to be a woman... I have gender identity dysphoria I have been treating it." Speaking of her regrets, Jessica said, "I do regret having the fake six pack and arms, I do wish I had the strength in those days to see a psychiatrist and people to help me in that journey."
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It's worth noting that the TV star has spent nearly £1 million ($1.13M) on nearly 80 surgeries, including sex reassignment surgery that she underwent in 2021 after coming out as transgender in 2020. However, Jessica bemoaned that she found it difficult to connect with men despite putting every effort into transforming her look. "I think that I tend to intimidate people due to my looks. But once they get to know me they see that I am a nice, kind soul," she explained. "I get a lot of attention from men when I am out in public, on my Instagram and on my OnlyFans, but I am still a single woman."
She acknowledged that she's "completed" her transformation into the woman she always wanted to be, but also insisted she's missing two important things in her life -- a husband and children. "It has been hard to find the Prince Charming who will eventually marry me and build a family with me," Jessica said, adding, "Most men that I have met are just after fun and when I talk about having kids etc they get put off."