“From Fame to Financial Fury: Golden Balls Icon Reveals Heart-Wrenching Struggle After Shocking ‘Split or Steal’ Loss”

It’s been over 17 years since Stephen Bushnall was left reeling from one of the most infamous betrayals in game show history on Golden Balls. Picture this: one moment, he’s ready to split a life-changing £100,000 with a fellow contestant, and the next, he’s hit with the gut-wrenching reality of being ‘robbed’ in a nail-biting ‘split or steal’ moment. Fast forward to December 2023, and Stephen shared a heartfelt update about his life, revealing the grim toll of that fateful decision. With £20,000 in debt still haunting him, he reflects on how that cash could have transformed his circumstances. Did he learn anything from this experience? Or does he still believe that playing fair is the way to go, even in a game where greed can win out? Stephen’s story gives us a glimpse into his ongoing struggles and his unwavering integrity. Curious about how he feels after all this time? You’ll want to check this out… LEARN MORE.

A bloke who was brutally ‘robbed’ by his fellow contestant on Golden Balls shared a sad update on his circumstances a few years after the show.

It has been more than 17 years since Stephen Bushnall lost £100,000 in an iconic ‘split or steal’ moment on the hit ITV show.

Take a look at his Golden Balls ordeal here:

For those who need a refresher, the 52-year-old earned a spot on the game show and had vowed to play it fairly – even explaining that he wanted to share the prize fund.

He was playing alongside a contestant called Sarah, who didn’t seem to share the same sentiment as Stephen, however.

In the final part of Golden Balls, the players had the opportunity to ‘split’ the jackpot between them or ‘steal’ it for themselves.

If both contestants chose to split, then everyone is a winner and they both go home with half of the money – but if both decided to be greedy, they would walk away empty handed.

As mentioned, Stephen had made his intentions for the £100,000 clear from the get go, and in a moment which has gone down in game show history, she pulled the rug from underneath the business development manager and claimed the cash all to herself – leaving Stephen, and everyone else at home, visibly stunned.

Stephen Bushnall was left ‘devastated’ by Sarah’s betrayal (ITV)

In an interview in December 2023, the contestant revealed that he was actually in around £20,000 worth of debt, so taking home that £50,000 would have ‘changed his life’.

“I was in a lot of debt then and I still am now,” he told The Daily Mail at the time. “Like a lot of people, I am struggling. Life is tough.”

Explaining he was ‘absolutely devastated’ by Sarah’s shocking steal on Golden Balls, he said of the prospect of earning £50k: “It would have been amazing. It would have sorted out a lot of problems and I played the game fairly.

‘Right now I am £20,000 in debt through owed money and credit card bills. The cost of living crisis has been very tough.”

Despite being in dire straits financially, Stephen insisted he would once again choose to split the prize fund if he did Golden Balls again.

“If I had my chance again, I would still pick to share the money,” he added. “That is the sort of person I am and always will be. I could not have lived with myself if I had stolen all that money from someone. It is not who I am.”

Still, Stephen admitted that he knew what the craic was before he went on it and clearly just misjudged Sarah’s character, as he was ‘utterly convinced’ she was going to share.

The Golden Balls contestant revealed that the cash would have completely changed his life (ITV)

“I could not picture anything else happening,” he said. “She looked me in the eye and told me she would share and I believed her. A body language expert spoke to me a few years afterwards and said looking back they could tell she was going to steal. I had no idea.”

Stephen said he would be interested to find out what his fellow contestant spent the mammoth amount of money on and that he hopes it ‘made her happy’.

“I really hope she invested it and spent it wisely,” he said. “I’d hate to think it got wasted on material things. And I’d say no hard feelings – don’t get me wrong I was absolutely devastated.

“But I just hope she is OK. It would be good to reunite and meet and see how she got on with everything. I’m very intrigued by what she spent it on. I just hope it made her happy.”