Despite not being a celebrity, Houghton appeared on "Celebrity Big Brother" in a hilarious twist by the producers, as she was tasked with convincing her fellow housemates that she was in a girl band. She formed a romance with contestant Samuel Preston, a singer in the band The Ordinary Boys, and they went on to marry in August 2006. Sadly, the couple divorced 15 months later.
Houghton had her own reality show after "Big Brother" called "Chantelle: Living the Dream" and signed a £300,000 book deal with Random House to publish her autobiography.