Where are they now? Big Brother winner Trevor Butler

More than two million people tuned in to the finale to see Trevor get down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend after the winner’s announcement.

News.com.au caught up with Trevor to find out what why he wanted to go on the show in the first place, what life’s been like since and if there’s any of the prizemoney left:

Why did you apply for Big Brother?

I wrote a ‘To Do’ list in 2002. I’d just moved up to the Gold Coast to live with Breea [his now wife] and on that list I had 18 things. One of them was to be on Big Brother, another was to buy a house and number 14 was to win a million dollars.

I still carry that list in my wallet because I have four things I still have to tick off: To bungy jump, to buy a 1967 Mustang, to meet Edge (a WWE wrestler) and to have a little girl.

Did you have a strategy while you were inside the Big Brother house?

Not at all. All I wanted to do was get in there. I actually told Breea I’d only be in there for two weeks. That didn’t happen. I was in there for 86 days and when I walked out she gave me a big hug and said, “that was the worst two weeks ever!”

From memory you didn’t get naked to shower in the house?

Nah. Breea said to me before I went in, ‘I don’t want to see your penis out on TV’.

What do you remember about the exact moment Gretel Killeen announced you were the winner?

Everything just stopped. I was looking around at normal speed but everything else had frozen and then a second later everything just kicked in again. It was very cool and quite surreal.

Were you always going to propose on the show, irrespective of how far you made it?

Yep. It didn’t matter if I was coming out the second week or the third week. I had it in my head that it would probably be the best place for me to ask her to marry me. But I did discuss it with everyone in the house during the show and I also discussed it with Big Brother. I wanted it to be a great surprise for Breea but I didn’t want to take the limelight from anyone else. They were all happy with it though.

How did you get an engagement ring?

Big Brother was pretty sneaky. There was a Christmas in July special where loved ones from outside the house could send in gifts to the remaining housemates. One of the producers said to Breea, “Is there something you could give him, maybe your Grandmother’s ring?”

It was perfect. When I walked out of the house I gave it to one of the producers who said he’d put it in a box and hand it back to me on stage. They told me the stage was mine and I could do whatever I wanted.

I got down on one knee and when I asked her she didn’t say anything for a while. I was like, “Way to leave a fella hanging!”

How long did it take for the $1 million to get put into your account?

I think it was a month. We put it in a separate account and we lived off the interest for a year.

I actually got paid $500 a week when I was in the house and each week I survived I’d add up the money I’d earnt from being in the house in my head.

The day after the finale I was at Melbourne airport and I was so stoked that I had over $3500 in my bank account. It’s the most that had ever been in there.

I had two security guards with me, Breea and a couple of the producers with me and we had breakfast and I told them I was going to pay. I put my bank card in the ATM and tried to withdraw $300 but there were insufficient funds. I went, “What the hell is going on here?” I only had about $20 left and I turned to Breea and said, “There’s meant to be $3500 in there!”

She said to me with a grin on her face, ‘Well, have a look at what I’m wearing’. She’d spent all my money. She said, ‘It’s our money and you’ve just won $1 million you cheapskate!’

We just pissed ourselves laughing.

What did you get up to after Big Brother?

I tried to get back to normality a bit so I did a bit of charity work. I also did some promo appearances. Just bits and pieces.

I didn’t go out looking for a job straight away like so many other Big Brother contestants who try to make the most out of their fame straight away. I just missed all that time out with my family and my mates so I just wanted to reconnect with everyone and chill out.

Then a job came up to work on the promo team at 102. 9 Hot Tomato and I’ve been doing that ever since.

And you’ve had a couple of kids?

Yeah, we’ve got two boys. My eldest just turned nine and my other son is turning six on New Year’s Eve. Our boys are our priority, we just want them to do well in life.

Is there any of the prize money left?

We invested some and we’ve still got some of those investments. We bought a house and a couple of cars.

We’re living a comfortable life but $1 million doesn’t actually go very far. We also lost a fair chunk during the global financial crisis. But as long as our boys are all right we’ll be happy.

And what are your plans for the future?

I’m trying to get back on to the radio. I had a stint on the afternoon show for a while and I enjoyed that so I might try to do a radio course or something like that.

As for promo work, I’m 43 years old and driving around in a car giving out free gear. Even though it’s the best job in the world I suppose I’d better turn into an adult and start doing some other stuff!

Originally published as Where‘s Big Brother winner Trevor now?