Ollie Locke Evicted, Finds Refuge, Starts Fresh Life

star and his husband Gareth took refuge at the home of a longtime friend who took pity on them after being evicted from their £4million home for failing to pay rent, we can reveal.

The couple were forced out of their Chelsea townhouse earlier this year amid a mounting rent scandal that has left a £45,000 bill still unpaid.

The couple and their two-year-old twins, Apollo and Cosima, were last month spotted at another rental property in affluent south-west London enclave Barnes, a stone's throw from Ollie's best friend .

And the Daily Mail can reveal they were taken in by a supportive friend before permanently fleeing London for the South Coast countryside this week amid financial woes.

Their temporary home is thought to be worth around the same amount as their former Chelsea place, but the couple have now decided to end their time in London and enjoy a fresh start with a new place in the countryside.

The reality star's short stay in Barnes and their move out of the capital was 'nothing to do' with the money troubles which have plagued the couple, a friend told the Mail. Ollie previously told the Mail he felt 'humiliated' and admitted his reputation was in tatters over his unpaid rent bill.

The 39-year-old said he suffered a 'breakdown' and was in the lowest place he'd ever been, after leaving their four-bedroom west London home in February owing three months' rent, plus fines and legal costs.

On Sunday, Ollie announced he was fulfilling his 'childhood dream' - and moving to the country.

Posting to his 545k Instagram followers on Sunday, he shared a reel of their new life in the countryside, revealing they have moved to the South coast.

He said: 'We rode out of Waterloo for the very last time as Londoners and from Chelsea to chickens, I'm now an uncle to seven chicks and the kids adore them.'

'I'm building a new adventure on the south coast where the kids can live their very best lives.'

The reality star also teased a new work venture, adding: 'So expect a new countryside Ollie, launching a new business, making new friends and I'm sure, lots of rural challenges.'

'Not so much King's Road, but instead getting my hands dirty with a full on country life, come with me in making this adventure one to remember.'

As revealed by the Daily Mail earlier this year, Ollie and Gareth, 37, failed to pay three months' rent on their former four-bedroom home just off Chelsea's King's Road – a debt amounting to £25,000.

When the sum remained unpaid, the total ballooned to £45,000 once late fees and legal costs were added, ultimately forcing the couple to vacate under the threat of eviction.

They are being held liable for the costs owed, alongside a third tenant who lived at the property and is named on the tenancy agreement. She paid her rent directly to Ollie and Gareth, but the money was not passed on to the landlord.

She later discovered the payments had not been used to cover the rent and instead, she claims, were diverted to 'fund the couple's luxury lifestyle.'

Despite meeting her obligations, the tenant is now being held liable for the unpaid rent and bills. 

With her name on the contract, she is being pursued by debt collectors for the outstanding sum. 

Ollie said he and Gareth are '100 per cent' committed to repaying the money owed so they can move forward with their lives.

However, Gareth says there was in fact a fourth lodger at the property who had agreed to pay their share but ultimately left them in the lurch - a claim they refute. 

The couple often filmed scenes from Made In Chelsea at the £4million four-bedroom, four-bathroom house just off the King's Road, including the recently released spin-off Beyond Chelsea, which was shot last summer.

Gareth, who joined original cast member Ollie on Made In Chelsea in 2018, told the Daily Mail they have every intention of repaying the money they owe, stressing that they are a 'normal family' who budget like anyone else.

He said: 'Everyone else has financial issues, whether it's paying a credit card bill late or paying their rent late.'

Ollie then offered new insight into his 'humiliating' financial struggles, revealing he spent around £500,000 on IVF and surrogacy in his journey to fatherhood.

Ollie told the Daily Mail that he sold his former home to fund treatment with husband Gareth, before the couple welcomed their twins via surrogacy in July 2023.

In an exclusive interview, Ollie described the emotional toll of their path to parenthood, including the loss of six pregnancies, which contributed to significant financial and personal strain.

The couple also faced further delays during the Covid-19 pandemic, which extended their efforts to conceive and build their family.

Ollie said: 'When it came to IVF, we got advice from people, they said, I think you should probably look at £150,000. I said, okay, if I remortgage my house, I might get enough money to do that.

'We sold the house and someone gave us an offer that was alright, so we took that. But at that point, we had to. The bills were through the roof, and we lost six growing babies through miscarriage and then we got two in the end, but it cost us £500,000.

'We wanted these children so desperately, but we didn't expect to go through four years because of Covid and all the laws.'

He said the pair's financial priorities shifted after becoming parents, noting that the costs of raising their twins, who were born at 31 weeks, continue to rise.

Due to the 'sporadic' nature of their careers as TV stars and influencers, Gareth insisted having a full-time nanny is a necessity, though he added that full-time childcare is 'expensive'.

He said: 'Last year, because we were aware that our finances were becoming tighter, we weren't going on holidays.

'We have kids, kids are expensive, and we don't care about ourselves anymore; we're putting them first. Ours were born premature so there have been extra costs and things we need to help with their development. 

'Twins are not the easiest thing in the world, especially when we have careers that are sporadic. Last year we filmed five different TV shows and it's like we're asked, 'can you come and film at this time?' and then we're like right, the twins, how do we do this? 

'In order for us to fulfil what we need to do to support them, we need childcare and it's expensive.' 

As well as their childcare costs, Ollie says the twins being born prematurely has also led the couple to spend more on their developmental support.

Apollo and Cosima were cared for at Durham, Sunderland and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital before being taken home in 2023.

But now, almost three years later, Ollie says the children are yet to speak a word, and the couple are heavily investing in costly speech therapy.

Ollie said: 'It's been a lesson. We all go through these bumps financially, especially with the cost of living becoming so expensive and so obscene. We're a family of four and we need to feed each other and try to keep up as much as we can.

'With premature babies, it costs us £1,000 a week because they're not ready to go to nursery; they're nonverbal. So, we're paying for special classes, and special help is a lot more money.'

Gareth added: 'One of the biggest issues around that time that we didn't expect was Covid. It was more drawn out and made the situation harder. 

'But we're like anybody else. We're in our 30s, building a family, running businesses, and we don't have a lot of disposable income. We wanted to have a family, so we planned it financially. It's been going well, but there have been a few bumps in the road.' 

After moving out of their rented £7,000-a-month property, Gareth previously told the Daily Mail that their new home is just as expensive.

Gareth added that the dynamic between the couple amid their financial struggles has seen him remain strong while Ollie 'falls to pieces'.

He said: 'I try to be strong for Ollie and try not to let things get to me,' before Ollie interjected: 'I'm the emotional one and this has pushed me to have a breakdown, which has been incredibly hard.

'Gareth is quite stoic and I couldn't do life without him because it wouldn't make any sense.

'I need to cry and I've done it enough on camera, but I'm not this enormously strong person. I can defend myself in an argument, but I can't be publicly ridiculed.'

Ollie and Gareth married in 2020 at London's Natural History Museum, in scenes filmed for E4's Made In Chelsea. 

They say the next chapter in their lives is focused on raising their twins and physically moving away from the lifestyle of the rich and famous in west London. 

Ollie confessed he had been trying to keep up the facade of a luxury lifestyle filled with champagne and trips to country manors after starring on the reality show for so long.

Gareth insisted: 'We wanted to move on from our previous home because we wanted a fresh start. We have some very negative memories from the house and terrible experiences.

'We feel we have found somewhere new to live where we love it, which is around more people who are older with families, which is incredible. 

'We are opening our eyes to a change of lifestyle because living in Chelsea – everyone is going out all the time; it's not the biggest family place.'