What Actually Happened to Karen and Where She Is Now.

$200,000 doesn't last forever.

In 2011, an unemployed 27 year old girl from Nigeria named Karen Igho entered into the Big Brother Africa house to contest against 25 other housemates in the hopes of winning $400,000.

91 days later, Karen WON the Big Brother Africa competition, but not in the way she expected, because instead of winning $400,000, she was to go home with $200,000. There had been 2 winners. Herself and 23 year old Zimbabwean pilot, Wendall Parson.

Karen is 36 years old now. It has been 9 years since winning the reality TV competition. What has been up to and what has been going on with her?

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Life Immediately After BBA

After coming out of the Big Brother House, Karen in 2015 revealed that she was shocked about the amount of people who hated her, especially when she entered the house for the first time.

She said:

I was constantly being judged for the way I look, the clothes I wear. I was one of the most hated persons on the planet when I first went into Big Brother. Because I have this very blunt personality. So at that time, they haven’t seen somebody like me. They were like who is this girl? Why is she like this? She’s from Nigeria? Omg she is so ugly! She’s this, she’s that. Look at her boobs. Look at the way she is dressed. She’s such an embarrassment to Nigeria. When I came out that was when I saw everything and I watched it. I was like oh my god; people actually were saying this about me? As time goes by, they started realizing that I’m not about what they see. That I have something in my heart. That I am actually genuine and I’m real. And they fell in love with me and I won. Why? Because they realize I have a good heart.

Following that, the next thing she had to tackle was the instant fame that was thrust upon her. She said:

Dealing with the fame was overwhelming. Nobody prepared me that when you win, a lot of things are going to happen so fast. I got movies, I was acting, I was doing music videos, I got my own radio show. I also was hosting.

But what people don't tell you is how the fame comes and how to deal with it. And you also get fake friends, even your enemy at that point is your friend because they just wanna get a part of what you got.

Karen made her acting debut in the long-running Nigerian TV sensation, Tinsel, as well as having minor roles in movies such as Blackberry Babes 2.

Before leaving Nigeria, when asked about her relationship status, the reality star said while talking to HipTV:

I am very single. I'm very very much single. If you can be my Mr. Right, holla, call HipTV, am I right? Holla them, let's hook up. But that is if you are my type o, in case you are not my type, do not be offended. But I am really single. My type of guy is ..hmmm...is the basic, basically, you know, God-fearing, you don't have to be six-pack, you don't have to be rich. Okay, I have this line from Prince: you don't have to be rich, you don't have to be cool to rule my world. All you just have to do is to be my man and just love me. Just love me for me and let's have fun, it's all about the connection.

2 years after, in 2013, Karen left Nigeria to further her education and took a course in Hunter College, New York.

Cancer

In December of 2013, Karen revealed terrible news through a series of tweets on her Twitter. Earlier in her life, before going into the Big Brother house, Karen had discovered lumps in her breasts and those were treated.

Then in December of 2013, she tweeted out a slew of tweets saying:

I told the world about my lumps and I get bullied every day for that. For being truthful. God in heaven will deal with all of you for me. I have cancer. Are you guys happy? When I die, will you be happy then? Lord, I commit my life into your hands. Will be undergoing treatment soon.

On January 15, 2014 following radio silence about what happened, she tweeted out saying:

Hi everyone.sorry you haven’t heard much from me,I’m currently in the uk undergoing treatment.thank you all for your love and support.x

On February 19, 2014, Karen tweeted saying:

She was cancer free!

Engagement.

In May of 2014, Karen Igho took to Instagram to share some wonderful news.

She was "off the market" as her caption read.

She didn't disclose any more information, and the identity of the husband to be was not revealed.

Until....

The Wedding.

2014. Nobody knew about it except family and friends.

However, Nigerians being a nosy people, we were able to find some pictures from the traditional wedding.

Karen got married to her husband, Yaroslav Rakos, who she had been dating for 9 years prior after meeting him in London.

Pregnancy + The Baby

When asked following her marriage to Yaroslav about having babies, Karen said:

We are definitely ready to have a baby. Having a family with children is definitely part of our future plans.

Not long after, God blessed her and Karen became pregnant.

On July 4th, her son was born.

And on August 23rd, 2015, she and her husband baptized their son.

So What Next?

What next? She now has the $200,000 ala the money, she has the husband, she has the child. According to society's standards, she has it all.

So what's next for Karen Igho? What is she doing now?

Well, Karen says that she is spending her time now just focusing on her family.

Work wise, she is a DSTV ambassador.

In 2017, she started a hair line named Octavia Exotique Hair, but it seems like that's no longer a thing seeing that their website isn't functioning anymore.

These days, Karen isn't really doing much in the public eye. She spends her time posting fun Tik-Tok videos and enjoying her quiet simple life.

Who would have thought? Wild Karen, Crazy Karen at the end would become Simple Karen.

THAT'S ALL.

If you're a Karen fan or you're just someone who's been curious about her whereabouts, I hope you've enjoyed this article.

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Until next time, have a wonderful rest of your day!