The first reality TV star in France, Loana was found dead on March 25, at her home in Nice. The ex-star of “Loft Story” lived in near poverty after having earned fortunes at the start of his career…
It’s a very sad end to the journey that grips the hearts of those who knew her in her early days on the small screen… Loana Petrucciani, found dead at the age of 48 at her home in the train station district of Nice – “an investigation was opened to determine the causes of death, which dates back several days“, specifies moreover Nice-Morning – was the first great icon of French reality TV thanks to Loft Story on M6. Behind the glitter of the 2000s hid a much darker reality: that of a woman who, after having touched the heights of fame and fortune, ended her days in total destitution.
Loana quickly became a millionaire after Loft Story
In 2001, after leaving Loft Story – an M6 show that has become cult thanks to the famous “swimming pool scene” between the blonde and Jean-Edouard – Loana quickly becomes a real “goose that lays golden eggs”. Advertising contracts, songs including the single How I love youpublication of his biography entitled She called me… Miettestyling for major brands like La Halle aux garments… The young woman becomes a millionaire in record time. Very quickly, Loana invested her money in real estate and paid cash for a luxurious 90 m² apartment a stone’s throw from the Trocadéro, in the very chic 16th arrondissement of Paris, as reported Release at the time.
Asked by The morningin 2021, Loana clarified about her earnings at the time: “In total, I won 226,000 euros. The first prize was to be a house that we had to win as a couple. The production really thought that the two winners were going to be in love. Christophe and I were a duo, but not in a relationship. The chain wasn’t going to buy a house for a duo, they split the price value in half. You should know that this money could not pass through our account. This amount was to be the contribution or purchase of real estate. I chose an apartment in Paris and Endemol transferred my winnings to the real estate agency.“
Unfortunately, this apartment will become his golden prison and the place of his solitude over the years, to the point of living there as a recluse. Earning significantly less well and being the victim of various scams, she is then forced to sell it.
Loana was at the RSA and lived in Nice
Between poor management and toxic surroundings, Loana unfortunately lost her fortune very quickly. “I was tricked, money was stolen from me. I had people around me who helped themselves“, she said to Here isin 2022. And despite some appearances in other reality TV shows (I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!, The Angels of Reality TV And The Villa of Broken Hearts) as well as in nightclubs or for concerts, she never again earned enough money to lead a dignified life.
In 2013, the show Must Celebrities finds Loana in her new life, living in a small house in the village of Domats, in Burgundy, with a pony. “This is the life I wanted (…) I earn a decent living!“, she proclaims. But the following years, it was a descent into hell between drug and mental health problems, finances at their lowest, companions who abused her weakness… So much so that she revealed in 2022, in TPMPthat she is ruined: “I am homeless, without a fixed address. I have nothing left, I live on RSA. As an artist, you have no retirement. We don’t have unemployment. We have nothing.” She then receives around 600 euros per month.
She then clarifies on Virgin that she cannot have a normal job: “I’m bipolar and from that moment on I can’t do a regular job.” Very touched by the situation, the ex-producer of Loft StoryAlexia Laroche-Joubert, flies to her aid and pays the rent for a modest apartment in Nice where Loana settles. This will be his final resting place…
