BBNaija 2019 winner, Mercy Eke, has revealed how she had to sell corn and fuel to make ends meet.

The 27-year-old revealed this in a close panel session at the 8th edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference (#NECLive8), which was held yesterday.

“Sometimes it gets me very emotional to see how far I’ve come from where I started, from selling corn to fuel, to a lot of other businesses I did before”, said Eke, who had to stop herself from weeping. “I’m very proud of myself, and I know that there are a lot of people looking up to me.”

The brand influencer also opened up about her struggles in a family of 6 and the fact that she auditioned four times before she got into the show.

“I auditioned four times before I got into the Big Brother House, but somehow I won the show, and I won the hearts of Nigerians and Africans”, Eke explained. “I work for everything I own today, maybe I’m not ‘blessed’ enough for people to just give me things for free. I can look back at my journey with pride, in spite of my rough childhood:

I grew up in a family of 6, but somehow I was able to complete my tertiary education. I’m very proud of myself, and I know that there are a lot of people looking up to me. Where I am today is through my hard work. I didn’t just win and rest on my oars, because I know that my journey has just started.”