Chrissie Swan was an unknown copywriter before she rose to fame on Big Brother in 2003 as runner-up to Reggie Bird.
But her story isn't one of rags to riches as the TV and radio personality had already built a beautiful life with her partner, carpenter Chris Saville.
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"I met someone, had three kids, went from completely unknown copywriter living in a flat in Hawthorn to covers of magazines and five jobs at a time, plus all the kids in there,"she told the Daily Telegraph in 2020.
It's rare for breakthrough celebrities plucked from normalcy to maintain the structure of their relationships but due to the 47-year-old's lucrative career demands, it wasn't always easy for Chrissie, Chris and their three children, Kit, Peggy, and Leo.
During her time on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! in 2015, Chrissie learned that she needed to learn to say no and spend more time at home.
"I never stopped working. I never had more than five weeks' maternity leave. Those years had been complete chaos. I don't know how I did it," she admitted to the Daily Telegraph.
"All of a sudden, I went on [I'm A Celebrity], I just thought it was a TV show, but it was like seven weeks at [famous Australian health retreat] Gwinganna. Everything stopped. It was really hard but also life-changing. I got to untangle what I wanted and how I wanted my life to go instead of doing everything. I was so busy I never thought 'no' was an option.
"I do one job. And I parent. And that is actually enough. My kids were little then, they're all at school now, so that changes things again, but I was so busy. What for?"
Chrissie and Chris have never married, and while the couple is happy with their decision, the reality star revealed on Today Extra in 2016 that her son Leo wants them to tie the knot.
"He goes to a school where all the parents are married. But me and my fella never got around to it," she said.
She also told the Daily Mail, "You'd think it would be our parents pressuring us, but it's him."
Chrissie has stepped back onto our screens by taking on the challenges of Celebrity MasterChef, and as we wait to see her in the famous kitchen, here are some of the rare family moments she has shared over the years.
![Chrissie told *[Mamamia](https://www.mamamia.com.au/chrissie-swan-2020/|target="_blank")* that she's learned to embrace the less elegant parts of a long-term relationship.
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"I'll talk about anything and everything because I'm not embarrassed about being a normal woman," she said.](https://d3lp4xedbqa8a5.cloudfront.net/s3/digital-cougar-assets/now/2021/10/07/1633569187518_Untitleddesign3.jpg?width=690&height=&mode=crop&scale=both&anchor=topcenter&quality=70)
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