Charlotte Church says 'I'm not a millionaire any more' after downsizing
Wales songbird Charlotte Church has said that she’s not a millionaire any more - and has downsized her home. The singer’s big musical break came at the age of 11 when she sang Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu over the telephone on This Morning in 1997.
She was said to have been worth £25 million at that age, was dubbed ‘Voice Of An Angel’ with her classical singing, and raked in millions when she later became a pop star with songs including Crazy Chick. Speaking to Closer magazine, Charlotte, aged 38, said: “I am not a millionaire anymore.”
The mum-of-three famously bought The Spinney, a six-bedroom rural mansion in her native Wales, and started The Arwen Project. This featured in the TV show Dream Build and included a park-sized garden, a piano room, a customised bookcase automatically opening to reveal a hidden lounge, and nature-inspired decor.
She also bought Rhydoldog House in Powys, turning it into a nature-based wellness retreat for women, putting £1.5million into the venture. But in March this year she was seen selling up The Spinney - earning a near £1million profit.
But in a new interview with Closer Magazine, Charlotte says she no longer has that kind of money, after years of effort to renovate it.“I am not a millionaire anymore,” she said. “What mattered to me when I bought The Spinney is it was absolutely beautiful and close to the forest and it was a big mansion house.
“We had a school there for a bit and a studio. When it is used by the community, it makes sense, but when it is not used, it doesn’t. We want to be in the mainframe and be involved in life and what it feels like.”
“I was very fairy-tale-like and then it gets into this dark, twisted fairy tale,” she said of her decision to sell up. “When I think back on it now, the path I am on is very interesting in the way I reflect rather than the way I look at what happened to me.”
“When I made money, I did say to my dad when I was 14, ‘I am not sure about this showbiz stuff. I am really not having a good time’ and he was like, ‘Just stick at it as we don’t get these opportunities’.” she continued.
“I did get to a stage in my teenage years, about 16 or 17, when I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can sing this s** t anymore’, but going around the world and singing in the biggest concert halls was phenomenal and I will be grateful for that experience.
“It’s the biggest tool for healing and the biggest tool we have for togetherness.” Charlotte also revealed she was making music again after decades away, saying it was “her soul” and that the money has allowed her to be free to try new things,
“Now I am able to do things that I am passionate about,” she said. “I have this retreat in mid-Wales and it is lush. It’s just the way my brain works, thinking about society and thinking about utopian futures and what the world needs.
“I feel deep at the core of my purpose, it is about healing and it always has been singing classical songs. People felt soothed by that. It is a deep part of my purpose.”
Charlotte recently launched her first podcast, Kicking Back with the Cardiffians on BBC Sounds, with new episodes available weekly. On the podcast she discusses her Welsh heritage, family bonds, her working class identity and growing up in Cardiff. Kicking Back with the Cardiffians is available weekly on BBC Sounds.