Big Brother Naija Season 7 winner, Josephine Ijeoma Otabor, popularly known as Phyna, has broken down in tears during an emotional livestream, revealing that she is now in financial difficulty after spending the bulk of her ₦100 million prize money on family members instead of investing it. 

The confession came days after a video surfaced online showing the 2022 BBNaija champion working as a waitress at a local restaurant, which triggered widespread reactions and prompted her to publicly address the state of her finances.

Speaking during the livestream, Phyna said she was young and inexperienced when she left the Big Brother house and had no structured plan to manage the fortune she had won.

She lamented that not a single older family member offered her financial guidance or advised her to invest, saying that instead of pointing her in the right direction, they came to her with demands and requests she could not refuse.

“When I came out of the Big Brother house, nobody told me how to invest the money. I was sharing it, helping family that was the beginning of my problem,” she said amid tears.

The reality star said she funded numerous family obligations, including digging boreholes and settling the debts of relatives, while genuinely believing the money would last. She recalled that she put family members first at every turn, only to find that many of them turned against her when the funds eventually dried up and she could no longer meet their growing demands.

According to Phyna, her family members became increasingly entitled, viewing her only through the lens of what financial benefit they could extract from her.

Phyna also addressed the viral restaurant video directly, defending her decision to take up honest work rather than sit idle. She made clear that she sees no shame in working regardless of her public profile, adding that the decline of influencing and endorsement opportunities has made it harder for former reality TV stars to sustain themselves.

“What would you have me do when brands no longer want people to influence for them?” she asked. The comments sparked a wide debate online, with some fans sympathising with her situation while others criticised her financial choices in the years since her win.

The story has reignited conversations around the lack of financial literacy support offered to reality TV winners in Nigeria, and the particular burden many young celebrities face from family and community expectations once sudden wealth arrives. Phyna’s candid confession has resonated with a number of Nigerians who shared similar experiences, even as others urged her to seek professional and legal redress for other outstanding payments she claims she is still owed from the show.