Former VH1 reality television star Daisy De La Hoya has revealed she is homeless, broke, and unable to find employment.
The 42-year-old former television personality told the Daily Mail that she is currently couch surfing while searching daily for work, including entry-level roles at fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's and Del Taco.
"It's embarrassing and it's very hard but I keep searching," De La Hoya said. "I don't know what it is about me but I guess god does not want me to have a job."
De La Hoya admitted she has little experience outside of the entertainment industry, though she previously worked as a waitress, a dishwasher, and a sales associate at clothing store Hot Topic during her teenage years.
She briefly found employment doing door-to-door fundraising for a non-profit organisation, but said she was heartbroken when they fired her for "not being good enough."
Desperate for stable work, De La Hoya expressed willingness to accept any position available. "I'd work at McDonald's, Starbucks, anything. Maybe I'm overqualified or maybe I'm underqualified, I don't know," she said. McDonald's and Starbucks are among the world's largest fast-food and coffeehouse chains, while Del Taco is a major American fast-food chain specialising in Mexican-style cuisine.
Street Violence and Health Recovery
De La Hoya revealed that her financial hardship previously escalated to living on the streets, where she was seriously assaulted and left with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a psychiatric condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing terrifying events.
"You have a different perspective after hitting rock bottom and losing everything," she said. "And I was lucky, but I've had to crawl my way back and I'm still crawling my way back up."
The former reality star got sober in 2024 following a decade of personal turmoil. She now takes medication for anxiety and bipolar disorder, and officially graduated last year from the McAlister Institute, an addiction treatment center based in San Diego, California. Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings.
De La Hoya emphasized that maintaining her sobriety requires continuous daily effort. "I do everything that the treatment centers and the therapist and everyone tells me to do because it's important," she said. "This is something that you do for the rest of your life. It's not something that you do once a week or for a weekend retreat and you're done."
She added: "For me, this is my entire life, my every day. This does not go away and everything is hard. It's like learning to relive your life."
Rise to Reality Television Fame
De La Hoya first shot to fame in 2008 as the breakout contestant on VH1's reality dating show Rock of Love, which followed 25 women competing for the affection of Poison frontman Bret Michaels. Poison is an American glam metal band formed in the 1980s.
Her popularity earned her a spin-off series, Daisy of Love, in 2009, establishing her as one of the prominent names from VH1's mid-2000s reality television era alongside Tiffany "New York" Pollard, Flavor Flav, and Brigitte Nielsen. VH1 is an American cable channel known for pop culture and unscripted programming.
An aspiring singer and actress who studied music, De La Hoya soon found herself socializing with prominent rock stars, including Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro. Mötley Crüe and Jane's Addiction are influential American rock bands formed in the 1980s.
However, substance abuse and mental health issues derailed her budding career almost as quickly as it began. Prior to her television work, she had also worked as an exotic dancer in Denver, Colorado, where she was raised, but left that life behind after being cast on television.
Financial Reality and Celebrity Relationships
De La Hoya cleared up misconceptions regarding her reality television earnings, revealing she was paid a flat rate of $50,000 for her 2009 spin-off Daisy of Love and receives no residual payments from reruns or streaming services.
"It's still there on streaming platforms but I don't get any of that money," she said. "The good news is that I'm still getting fans and people can watch it, but I don't get any money from it. I'm poor and homeless, that's the truth."
She noted that most of her former celebrity friends drifted away over the years. She stated that she no longer speaks to Bret Michaels. "No, no, no, no," she said when asked if they communicate. "I don't talk to him whatsoever. No, no, no!"
Her sole remaining celebrity connection is former child star Corey Feldman, whom she described as one of her best friends. Feldman is an American actor known for roles in 1980s films including The Goonies and Stand by Me.
"He's my only celebrity friend and one of my best friends," De La Hoya said. "He helps me all the time, but not with money or anything. He helps me morally and does what he can for me, but he tells me that I have to do it on my own. I'm not his nepo baby or anything, but he gives me suggestions of things I can do."
One of Feldman's suggestions was starting a GoFundMe page, but De La Hoya expressed hesitation to "beg people for money." She explained: "That to me is weird. I don't want people to be like, 'Oh, poor her.' Because big deal, other people are hurting and suffering all the time."
Future Ambitions and Advocacy
Outside of job hunting, De La Hoya has been studying musical theatre in hopes of returning to the entertainment industry, though she remains open to any immediate employment.
"I don't think of myself as being famous or being somebody, I just think of myself as a person who did a thing and wants to continue to be part of the entertainment industry," she explained. "But sometimes I think I need to just give up on entertainment because at this point I just need a job."
She still dreams of becoming a "respectable working actress" and wants to be "taken seriously" as a full-time musician. "I want to do it full time. It's my craft and that's what I came here to do. I studied music," she said.
De La Hoya also wants to use her voice to advocate for others struggling with addiction and mental health issues, specifically focusing on suicide prevention. For now, she is staying on a friend's couch temporarily while attending school, maintaining her sobriety, and searching for employment every day.
