Buying London star Juliana was homeless before the show but is now a millionaire

Buying London shows us all the glitz and glamour of the most expensive houses in London – but before that life was very different for one of its stars, Juliana Ardenius.

Ahead of the show starting, 30-year-old Juliana’s Netflix bio described her as “self-assured” and “the hottest interior designer in London.” It said she likes properties that are “as glamorous as she is” in her line of work. However, in an interview last year, she opened up about life not always being this way.

Speaking to Leicestershire Live, the former model explained how she lost everything when a failed investment cleaned her out, but rebuilt her fortune and became a millionaire. Juliana said at her worst, she was homeless with just £160 to her name.

Having moved to London in 2017, Juliana had previously travelled the world as a model. But then, she invested in a friend’s business venture which later collapsed.

via Netflix

“I came here [to the UK] with nothing, I eventually saved up some money through jobs but I was trusting the wrong people,” she said. “I invested all of my money in one of my acquaintance’s projects and I lost everything – he emotionally blackmailed me. At the time, I couldn’t afford my rent because of this, I was on the streets for a few weeks.”

She then explained she started dating someone who she moved in with, but this relationship later turned abusive. Eventually, a friend allowed Juliana to live with him rent-free for three months, to help her get back on her feet.

She said: “I came to London being really naive – I was like a fish in a shark tank – I was young, pretty, naive and vulnerable, and men took advantage of that.” At this point, Juliana had just £160 to her name and began to contact estate agents to find somewhere to live. It was while furnishing her first flat that she came up with the idea of going into interior design.

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She explained: “I heard back from one estate agent, and I furnished a three-bedroom apartment in two weeks – I had no money, no workmen, no storage and bought everything from IKEA and Gumtree. It was a random idea that I had but I found myself drilling together all of the furniture, and from there it grew to a really successful business.”

Now, Juliana claims she has become a millionaire from this business. “I’m such a hard worker, I go above and beyond, and I think my experiences have made me very personable, and I’ve definitely been very lucky,” she said. “I’m still getting used to it and I’m still a humble small-town girl for sure.”

Buying London is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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