Geordie Shore’s Sophie Kasaei has said that she ‘struggled to survive’ on the show’s salary.
The 32-year-old was among the original cast that launched the MTV show back in 2011, with her becoming a series regular.
However, the reality star wasn’t the only cast member who couldn’t make ends meet.
Despite finding success on the MTV series, Kasaei revealed her salary was as substantial as fans would expect.
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Speaking on the False Economy podcast, she told listeners: "When we first started the show we got absolutely nothing.”
"The most we ever got was £1,000 a month and we couldn't survive on that, obviously after tax as well," added the 32-year-old.
Unlike modern reality stars, Kasaei couldn’t rely on social media sponsorships and said that some cast members even worked two jobs just to boost their income at times.
She and several co-stars even spent time in a call centre, despite how successful Geordie Shore was.
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Others felt that they ‘couldn’t go back to a normal job’ after appearing on the show, even though the fear of ‘not having a regular income was very scary’.
As social media became more popular, it helped Kasaei gain more income, but she insists she’s not as wealthy as people would expect.
"Everyone watching me thinks I am a multimillionaire right now and they think I'm loaded and have everything they ever wanted but I'm probably a lot more skint than the local Joe Bloggs down the street,” she said pointedly.
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Continuing she added: “No one would know until I've told you now, and we need to be more open about this because people think they can do reality shows and make so much money but it's tough."
However, she did reveal that some cast members were able to cash-in on their success more easily than others – especially the boys.
In fact, they were able to crave a niche for themselves by doing public appearances, mainly in nightclubs, as the TV show grew in popularity.
“…the boys were earning quite a lot of money from Pas,” she revealed.
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“They were doing cash jobs,” the 32-year-old explained, “…so they were getting a grand, maybe two grand, for doing one hour of photos in a nightclub with all the girls throwing themselves at them.”
Although Kasaei has gone on to move into her own house, she added that she’d approached an accredited account to help understand her finances more.
Topics: Geordie Shore, TV and Film, Money
Katherine Sidnell