Ten years ago, Ajay Rochester was a very famous face on our television screens as host of The Biggest Loser. Rochester presented the show during its peak with ratings from 2006 to 2009, when it was averaging over a million views each night.
However since departing from the popular weight-loss show, she has dipped in and out of the public eye, and in the past couple of years has remained relatively removed from the Australian entertainment industry.
So we’ve done some research and had a deep dive into what Ajay Rochester has been up to since hosting The Biggest Loser, and it seems it’s certainly been a bumpy road. Thankfully, in 2019 things seem to be looking up.
In 2008, Rochester, then 39, was charged with welfare fraud for receiving the single parent payment from Centrelink when she was not eligible from 2001-2005, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
This was widely reported within the media, however she has since claimed that a lot of what was said was lies, with the negative publicity ruining her career in Australia.
Speaking to 9Honey last year, Rochester said "I literally lost jobs because of the things said about me."
To escape the media, Rochester moved to Los Angeles in 2010 with her son, Kai. The author told 9Honey that she actually became homeless for five months, and at one point she "moved into a fan's house for a month after I reached out on Facebook."
In 2012, the single mum briefly returned to Australia to appear on reality TV Show, Excess Baggage, which was about eight celebrities pairing up with eight contestants in a weight-loss competition, which Rochester and her partner won.
In 2013, Rochester shared with The Kyle and Jackie O Show, who where then on 2Day FM, that despite her weight-loss on the television series, she still struggled with food addiction. She revealed that she had put on nearly 50 kilos in the twelve months since Excess Baggage.
"I am eating myself to death," she told the radio presenters. "If junk food was a sex aid I would be a very satisfied woman."
Rochester asked The Kyle and Jackie O Show to fly her over from LA to partake in a weigh-in, in the studio, and said that she would set herself a weight goal. She made a "Fat Bet", which meant that if she reached her target, the radio show would give her $20,000. She lost 20 kilos, and won the money.
In 2015, Rochester appeared in multiple plus-size photoshoots, revealing she was feeling more confident in her body.
"It's a good thing I feel #sexyatanysize cause I believe I am rocking this gorgeous @lanebryant two piece #curvy swimsuit," the diet author posted to her Instagram.
She's also done multiple acting gigs in Hollywood since then.
More recently, Rochester has become a casting agent in Hollywood, and last year starred in another reality show, Cast Me!
This television series, featured on MyxTv, follows four producers as they cast aspiring actors. Earlier this year in March, Rochester and the Cast Me! team won the Reality TV Award in America for Most Unique Concept, beating Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg's show Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party.
In 2019, it seems things are certainly looking positive for Rochester, as she has secured a place on I'm a Celebrity Australia.
Top Comments
It’s sad that to be profitable in our market she had to lose weight, over in LA she’s successful in spite of it.
To be fair, the market she tried out in Australia is based on weight and losing it (and presumably keeping it off). I doubt she'd be successful if she auditioned as the host of The Biggest Loser in the US.
She did do other things in our market prior to that
A glance at Wiki would suggest those "other things" included an acting career that never took off, and a lot of side ventures - the latter almost all to do with her weight.
The problem with your comment is your reference. It’s not known for being entirely credible