Former Biggest Loser star Ajay Rochester, 53, says she is completely broke and is struggling to get back to the US where she lived for over a decade before the pandemic.
The once decorated TV star is now working as an Airtasker, doing chores to raise funds for a flight back to Los Angeles.
Airtasker is a Sydney-based company, which outsources everyday tasks for jobs like cleaning, booking keeping, bricklaying and driving.
Former Biggest Loser star Ajay Rochester, 53, says she completely broke and is struggling to get back to the US where she lived for over a decade before the pandemic
Ajay put her career as a casting director aside during the Covid pandemic, jetting back to Sydney to be with her son, Kai.
She is now fighting to finalise her US visa – while the American Embassy in Sydney remains closed, she was forced to spend her last remaining savings on a flight to Fiji to sort her Green Card paperwork earlier this month.
‘I am broke,’ Ajay told the Daily Telegraph’s Confidential.
‘I have lived off all of my savings over the past few years being literally stuck in Australia and my work is in America.
‘You are made to feel like a loser if you are pay cheque to pay cheque … it is expensive and the money has run out.
‘There is broke, as in living in a tent, and there is broke as in I have been paying two rents broke. But broke is broke.’
She relocated to the United States for a fresh start in 2009.
But in 2020, after more than a decade of living in Los Angeles, the former Biggest Loser host flew back to Australia after becoming so sick of the lockdown in the United States.
‘I spent 10 months in my apartment locked up, like a self-imposed prisoner terrified of this virus while millions of others go about doing what they want and it just spiraled out of control,’ she told the Daily Telegraph at the time.
Ajay put her career as a casting director aside during the Covid pandemic, jetting back to Sydney to be with her son, Kai. She is pictured at Taronga Zoo last November
‘I just knew I had to go. I had this gut feeling. People here don’t realise how lucky they have it.’
Leaving her life in America behind wasn’t easy for Ajay, who had to deal with a lot of bureaucracy before being permitted to fly out of the country.
It took her three months to find a way home due to tough Covid-19 restrictions.
‘I got home in the end so I’m one of the lucky ones as there are so many who haven’t been as fortunate,’ said the mother of one.
‘I am broke,’ Ajay said. ‘I have lived off all of my savings over the past few years being literally stuck in Australia and my work is in America’
In 2021, Ajay revealed she is following in Rebel Wilson’s footsteps after being inspired by the actress’ ‘year of health’.
Last year she shared an Instagram post detailing her efforts, alongside a photo of herself post-workout.
‘This past week I made some key changes, so I subbed my white bread for Soy Burgen (sorry peeps Keto is not for me),’ she began.
It comes after Ajay revealed she is following in Rebel Wilson ‘s footsteps after being inspired by the actress’ ‘year of health’
‘There are NO lollies in my house and yes the sugar withdrawals are real, I have subbed with fruit or small protein snack (Eg jerky), introduced TABATA training (not fun), upped my water intake, had Brookfarm gluten free muesli and Greek yogurt for breakky and most important of all – zero alcohol!’ she went on.
Tabata is a type of HIIT workout that involves eight 20 second rounds of strenuous exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest.
‘I don’t know what I weigh as I don’t have a scale and that’s not important right now. Getting moving, making healthier choices and feeling better is the key to moving more,’ she went on.
‘I lost a few days to a bad back which will get easier as I get lighter. Don’t worry about what you can’t do focus on what you can.’
Ajay (pictured left in 2007 and right in 2020) announced she is planning to drop the kilos she gained in lockdown following a health scare
Ajay explained that she ended up in the emergency room for an electrocardiogram after her heart started to flutter, causing her blood pressure to rise and panic.
‘I’m fine. My EKG was normal, but it was enough of a scare to make me wake up and get serious. So here’s to MY year of health!’ she wrote.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Ajay said she was shocked to discover how big she was after seeing photos of herself snorkelling and swimming.
She explained that she ended up in the emergency room for an electrocardiogram after her heart started to flutter, causing her blood pressure to rise
‘I looked at myself and went “s**t on a little bigger than I thought it was” and, I was quite shocked and, and a little scared for my health.’
‘It really was like, “oh my God, holy s**t. What happened?” I’m like, well, you know, quarantine happened and, I don’t know what happened. I lost the plot.
‘I’ve been so inspired by Rebel’s weight loss. I was like, all the fat girls around me are getting thin. Mama June (Here Comes Honey Boo Boo) lost the weight and now, Rebel has lost all the weight.
‘I looked at myself and went “s**t on a little bigger than I thought it was” and, I was quite shocked and, and a little scared for my health,’ she told Daily Mail Australia
Ajay went on to say that she didn’t want to be the ‘last fat girl standing’.
‘I was literally up in Rebel’s Instagram and she was doing like the stairs at the Opera House with her hot trainer. I’m like, well, I’m going to do the stairs,’ she laughed.
‘I’m going to follow in her footsteps and I’m declaring this my year of health.’
Ajay hosted weight loss show The Biggest Loser from 2006 to 2009, before relocating to the US.
Her most recent TV appearance was on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2019, but she now mostly works behind the scenes.
Ajay, who hosted weight loss show The Biggest Loser from 2006 to 2009, relocated to the U.S. in 2009
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk