Spent is a biting new comedy about the less glamorous side of modelling. Having binge-watched the series on iPlayer, viewers have been curious about the lead actress Michelle de Swarte and the inspiration behind the BBC show.
What happens when models have a mid-life crisis? This is Spent's hilarious premise, which sees former model Mia (Michelle de Swarte) whose high-end fashion career is in tatters.
Leaving New York and its catwalks behind, the nearly forty-year-old returns to the UK without a penny to her name.
Despite sofa-surfing and struggling to make ends meet, Mia still has a taste for the finer things in life.
As she clings to the memories (and her world-class skincare routine), the former runway model must accept that the life she knew is now out of reach. But can she?
Having seen Michelle de Swarte in the furiously funny series, viewers are curious to learn more about how much of Spent is based on her life as well as who she is married to.
Who is Michelle de Swarte's Husband?
Michelle de Swarte was married to professional skateboarder Jason Dill, but the couple reportedly filed for divorce in 2020.
Having separated several years ago, the relationship featured heavily in the comedian's 2023 stand-up show Moved - which is about restarting life at forty.
Channelling heartbreak and failure seems to be a theme with the actress, as Spent is also semi-autobiographical.
Is Spent based on Michelle de Swarte's life?
Spent is based on elements of Michelle de Swarte’s life, with the comic using events from her late thirties as inspiration for the plot.
The actress and showrunner even joked that Spent was '20 per cent' true, during an interview with The Independent.
Just like the series’ protagonist, Michelle had humble beginnings and grew up on a Brixton council estate before being scouted in her early twenties.
Hired by elite agency Select, the then-twenty-something was 'catapulted' into the New York fashion scene and became somewhat of an IT girl.
Navigating colourism alongside casting calls, she spent nearly two decades walking the runway.
Despite modelling for the likes of Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger and Cartier, she later returned to London completely penniless.
Aged out of the modelling industry, the actress struggled with homelessness and a crippling spending addiction.
Michelle explained, "I wasn’t being completely honest with myself about how bad things had got. But I knew that the gig was up."
Thankfully, she made the pivot to comedy and the 43-year-old hasn’t looked back since.
Though Spent uses many events from her life, Michelle insists that she and her character, Mia, are not identical.
She teased, "You’ve got to use your imagination and build on characters if nothing more than for legal reasons!"
Spent is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
