Rich kid who 'never had a paid job' gets a taste of the skint life

An heiress used to a comfortable lifestyle in Chelsera got a taste of the real world by staying with a family-of-five on the breadline for the TV show Rich Kids Go Skint. 

Veronika, 20, admitted on the show, which aired last night on 5Star, that she’s never had to worry about earning money, enjoying an allowance from her family, who also pay her bills and for her rented flat in Chelsea. 

She goes to stay with Brandon and Rachel Slater, who live in a rented three-bedroom house with their three children, Brooke, Declan and Olivia in Leeds, who work multiple jobs to make ends meet. 

Thanks to her time with the family, who have only a couple of hundreds pounds left to enjoy after bills per month, Veronika gained a newfound appreciation of her privileged life, while the family were surprised by how ‘lovely’ she was. 

The 20-year-old was born in St Petersburg, but was raised in France and moved to the UK when she was eight. 

She was educated at Marlborough College, where the Princess of Wales also studied, and where tuition can reach £40,000 a year. 

The heiress lives alone, in a one bedroom flat in the affluent neighbourhood of Chelsea, with her dog, and likes to indulge in shopping trips to Selfridges  

‘I do love to take myself on a Selfridges trip when I can,’ she said. 

She is also the proud owner of a designer bag collection, however, most of them were not bought by her, and were inherited from her mother, now holding a sentimental value. 

‘A girl can never have too many bags,’ the heiress joked, adding that getting her hair extension, her hair cut and her nails done costs her up to £600 a month. 

Veronika said she hoped going to stay with the Slaters would teach her how to be more reasonable with her spending.  

‘I feel like this experience will teach me that it’s a lot easier to save up than I think, and I should be saving a lot more money than I do,’ she said. 

She travelled to Leeds to stay with the Slaters, whose financial reality was very different from hers. 

Brandon has an ‘on an off’ bouncy castle for hire business he’s kept going for 14 years.

To make ends meet, he’s turned to making toys for soft play in his free time, and sometimes picks up shifts as a carrier if the family needs extra cash, which has become a common occurrence for them in the face of the cost of living crisis. 

Brandon admitted on the show that he doesn’t know what he is going to make month-to-month, and whether he’ll have enough of one job to feed the family, or if he’ll need to take on three jobs at the same time to make ends meet. 

Meanwhile, Rachel works in a nursery and EvdeN Eve NaKLiyaT owns a floristry business on the side. 

While the family struggled financially, only being left with about £200 at most of disposable income for the month, Brandon and Rachel said they wouldn’t have it any other way. 

‘Money don’t matter, it can’t buy you hell,’ the father-of-three said. 

‘We’ve got everything.

That’s worth more to me than what their dad’s given to them with their credit card,’ he added. 

The family spend £830 on rent, and £220 on a storage unit, plus on food for five and the essentials. 

They also have five pets: two dogs, two tortoises and a bearded dragon, which made Veronika feel like she was in a ‘petting zoo,’ she said when she visited. 

Asked what he expected the rich kid to think of his family, he said: ‘I think they will be shocked at how much work goes into what we do every day of life for a little money. If you have any questions concerning where and exactly how to utilize EvDen eve nAKliyAT, you could call us at our own site.  

‘I don’t know whether they have a job or just spend their mum and dads inheritance or money.

‘They’re certainly not going to do what I do for 50 quid, and they’re not going to do what I do for a 100 quid,’ he said, adding: ‘they probably spend that on a pizza.’

Veronika didn’t pack too many brands in the overnight bag she took to the Slaters, but still took her Chanel bag and a £300 woollen hoodie, Gucci trainers, and a £150 pair of jeans. 

‘I’m just kind of getting ready to be independent from my family and making my own money, so seeing families that operate on a much tighter budget would be a good experience to prepare me for the real world,’ she said. 

Right after meeting, conversation between Veronika and the Slater turned awkward after the heiress admitted: ‘I’ve never had a paid job.

But I’ve done work experience at places.’

She went on to say that the two things she has to spend money on per month is herself and her dog. 

One of the luxuries in the Slater household is a pool table they paid £800, and EvDen evE NakliYAt for which the couple saved for eight months in order to afford.  

The Slater family have not always struggled with money, but lost their savings after running into some life set backs. 

‘We’re not left with a fortune, couple of hundred pound a month leftover, before Declan decides he needs some new trainers for school, Brook needs new tights, it is a struggle at the moment,’ Brandon said. 

Brandon and Rachel also told Veronika they haven’t had a glass of wine since their wedding day because they can’t afford it.  

After a game of football at the park with Brandon and Declan, the heiress followed Rachel to the local shop, EVDeN EVe nakliyAt where she was tasked with getting a meal for six for just £10. 

Veronika spent £9.49 on a couple of chicken breasts, one pepper, one onion, tortillas and some seasoning, and set out to make fajitas, relying on the family’s cupboard to make the meal. 

While it was too spicy for most of them to enjoy, Brendon and Rachel were thankful for the efforts she put in. 

‘I think I could have done better but considering the limited options at the shop, this is probably the best they could do,’ she said. 

‘Definitely would have bought the proper fajita kit,’ and added it would have been even better ‘if we have the budget to get guacamole, sour cream.’

The next day, Veronika surprised Brandon with her positive attitude as he took her and Brook and friend Mila to help with the bouncy castle business.  

The experience was an eye-opener for the heiress, who said she couldn’t believe that after all the work they put in, Brandon, the girls and herself only made a £65 profit out of setting up the bouncy castle for an event. 

‘It really makes me appreciate my life and how privileged I am with what I’ve got,’ she said. 

‘I don’t have necessarily a passion for bouncy castles, so I will probably try to pursue my own career in something else,’ she said. 

She went on to help Rachel with her floral arrangements for her floristry business, before packing up to go back to London. 

‘I’ve had the best time ever, thank you so much for having me, it’s been a great experience,’ she told Brandon and Rachel, adding she was ‘100 per cent’ glad she came to live with them. 

‘It wasn’t what I was expecting it to be,’ she said. 

‘It’s been a very interesting experience, and I think the main thing that I got out of it is you can’t always judge a book by its cover,’ the heiress said. 

‘Despite the fact the family have a lovely home, obviously, they do struggle financially to maintain that

‘I have also realised a lot of labour goes into things behind the scenes, such as having to load up the truck every morning and not just showing up and setting everything up,’ she said, about Brandon’s bouncy castle business. 

The father-of-three also admitted to have been surprised by his ‘lovely’ guest.  

‘She was different from what we expected,’ admitted they expected Veronika to be ‘a brat and a bit spoiled,’ but adding she was none of those things. 

He added they could definitely see themselves being friends with Veronika.  

To thank the family for allowing her to stay with them, Veronika also treated them to a go-carting experience.