REALITY TV has made Wes Nelson a millionaire who never has to work again – but now he has his sights set on becoming a music star.
Lucrative telly appearances on The X Factor: Celebrity and Dancing On Ice as well as a host of shrewd investments earned Wes a fortune at just 21.
Now 22, the former nuclear systems design engineer exclusively tells The Sun that he’s not only secured his own financial future but those of any children he has too.
He admits: “I was a millionaire by the age of 21. And that’s not being a show off or anything, but it’s wise investments and understanding this life doesn’t last forever.
“I’ve been lucky to have so many shows under my belt, and I’m super grateful for that.
“I have a passive income and generational wealth, so my children, whenever they come about, they’re not going to have to work again. I don’t have to work again.”
Avoiding the pitfalls of boozy after-parties and newfound fame, Wes spent his paid night club appearances listening to investment podcasts to help build his bank balance.
“Every time I went to a PA, instead of listening to music, I’d be listening to podcasts on property,” he says.
While reluctant to reveal just how many houses he owns, Wes says he has “a lot” of properties, all of which are mortgage free.
And never one to lack ambition, he is now putting his heart and soul into launching a music career.
He recently signed a record deal with music industry juggernauts EMI Records, calling it a “pinch myself moment”.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do my entire life,’ he says excitedly. “I think it’s that stamp of approval to say ‘yep, you’re a professional singer now’. For me, it’s most definitely my biggest achievement in my entire life.”
Details around his debut release are top secret but fans can expect a unique sound.
He says: “My niche is I can switch a lot of things up in my songs so everyone that listens to says ‘you sound like three different people’.
“I’m trying to vary every single song that I do and trying to make everything a bit different to what’s currently out there.”
It was his time on the X Factor as part of Love Island group No Love Lost that kickstarted his transition from TV star to singer.
The group – made up of Wes, Samira Mighty, Eyal Booker and Zara McDermott – impressed viewers and the judges with their energetic performances and original material.
Once again Wes snubbed the party atmosphere backstage to study up on music production, and it led to him creating a £25,000 studio in his own apartment.
But ironically, the majority of the 26 songs Wes has written weren’t put together using the state-of-the-art equipment.
Instead, his tracks came while he hunkered down in best pal Josh Denzel’s spare room after his split from girlfriend Arabella Chi.
The former couple called it a day in April weeks after lockdown had begun.
Wes let Arabella remain in the flat while he turned to his friends and devoted himself to music.
Recalling his vampiric existence, he says: “I literally didn’t leave Josh’s house for six weeks. I didn’t even leave the front door.
“When you’re going through a break up you’re clutching for things to focus yourself on and distract yourself from the whole break up and music for me was a huge part of that. Every single day 15-20 hours a day, I was literally doing four-five hours sleep a day.”
Wes is now back in his own apartment and insists he and Arabella remain good friends.
In an age of explosive celeb fallouts and messy splits, the pair’s break-up was refreshingly drama free.
“We’d genuinely just grown apart,” reflects Wes thoughtfully. “It literally is as simple as that. It sounds so weird. There was no event or nothing bad or negative that happened between us to split us up.
“We were both mature people, both adults that can understand if it’s not the right one, it’s not the right one and we’re not gonna waste our time on that. I respect her, she respects me, and we’ve just moved on.”
The pragmatic star says it’s the same for his previous high-profile romance to with Megan Barton-Hanson.
He says: “Absolutely. She congratulated me on the record deal. Again, there’s no animosity or hostility.”
After his two failed relationships, Wes is not interested in finding another girlfriend just yet.
Declaring himself “married to the music now”, he adds: “There’s no dating for me.”
In fact he’s so serious about his career change that he’s rejected lucrative telly deals and called time on reality TV appearances.
He says: “It’s not just a passion project. It’s a career change for me.
“Sometimes you’ve gotta take a step back and think ‘is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?’ Reality television has been absolutely brilliant for me, but my true passion does really lie in music.
“I can’t see any reality television for the foreseeable. I’ve turned down a lot of big shows and this isn’t about money for me, it’s about myself, my well-being, my passion.”
