Big Brother 2003 winner Reggie Sorensen finds feet again after news of going blind and broke

REGGIE Sorensen made headlines two years ago revealing she was broke, depressed and going blind. She tells the Gold Coast Bulletin how she’s found her feet again.

Coast resident Reggie Sorensen says her bubbly personality and her boyfriend of two years have helped her turn her back on depression. Photo: Richard Gosling

REGGIE  Sorensen  made headlines two years ago rev­ealing she was broke, dep­ressed and going blind.

The 2003 Big Brother winner, who lives in Coombabah with her two kids Mia, 9, and Lucas, 6, has no peripheral vis­ion and her overall field of vision is constricted to only 10 degrees.

“It’s a ticking time bomb. I will not be able to see anything in five years,” she said.

“I won’t be able to watch my kids grow.

“I can’t think about it bec­ause it just breaks my heart.”

Tasmanian-born Ms Sorensen, who was once the most popular person in the country and won $250,000 prizemoney as Reggie Bird, has suffered an ectopic pregnancy, two divorces, was ­diagnosed with the degen­erative eye condition, lost $40,000 to a conman, $100,000 in a bitter divorce with her first husband and has not been able to drive or work in seven years.

On top of that, her youngest child Lucas is a regular at Gold Coast University Hospital with cystic fibrosis.

Flashback: Reggie Sorensen nee Bird (left) realises she has won Big Brother. Photo: Channel 10.

Somehow, after being ­severely depressed for years, Ms Sorensen has managed to pluck herself out of a dark hole.

It might have something to do with her boyfriend of two years, former Manly Sea Eagles player John Jones, who she met at the Paradise Point Bowls Club, claiming he is “one of the best things that’s ever happened to me”.

But, she said, it has a lot to do with the “bubbly woman” the country fell in love with on TV 13 years ago.

The Big Brother win in 2003 changed Reggie Sorensen’s life.

“The odds have been against me ever since Big Brother ended,” said Ms Sorensen, who has called the Coast home for nearly 10 years.

“I’m a fighter — I have too much to give to be in such a terrible state of mind.

“I know it sounds a bit corny but I think people really related to me and still do because I’m so cheery and positive and have a sense of humour about life.

“I really lost that part of me but I’ve got two beautiful children — I’ve got a lot to live for,” she said.

“When I was in the news last time I was so down on myself but found a lot of strength in the person that I am through public support.

“I just found it within myself one day and said I didn’t want to live life like that any more.”

Ms Sorensen spends her time volunteering at her daughter’s school, Coombabah Primary, helping with their community garden and teaching the kids how to cook.

She has not been able to secure work after the reality show, saying nobody took her seriously.

Despite that, she said she would do it all again.

“It was so much better than reality,” she said.

“It didn’t last long though.

“For the two weeks after the show I had to walk around with bodyguards ­because I was mobbed everywhere I went.

“There were a few nightclub appearances and radio stints, and then it just ended like that.

“I look back on it and reminisce and can’t help but feel upset that it’s over.

“But I’m happy. I’m in a better place now than I have been in a very long time.

“It means a lot to be able to say that.”