A onetime reality TV personality who moved in celebrity music circles at the height of her fame says she is now broke, without a permanent home and struggling to land steady work.
Daisy De La Hoya became a familiar face to VH1 viewers in 2008 after emerging as a standout contestant on Rock of Love, the dating competition that featured 25 women vying for the attention of Poison frontman Bret Michaels.
Her popularity quickly carried her into a spin-off series of her own, placing her among the most recognizable figures from VH1’s mid-2000s reality TV wave, a roster that also included Tiffany “New York” Pollard, Flavor Flav and Brigitte Nielsen.
De La Hoya, who was pursuing music and acting, soon found herself mingling with major rock names including Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee and Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro. But she says substance abuse and mental health struggles disrupted her rise almost as soon as it began.
After years of instability, De La Hoya said she got sober in 2024 and is now taking medication for anxiety and bipolar disorder. Still, the 42-year-old told Our News Outlet that even with her health more stable, she has been couch surfing and has been unable to secure employment.
“It’s embarrassing and it’s very hard but I keep searching,” said De La Hoya, who said she has applied for jobs at McDonald’s and Del Taco.
Former reality star Daisy De La Hoya told Our News Outlet she is now broke, homeless and struggling to find work. Pictured above in 2009
De La Hoya rose to fame in 2008 on VH1’s Rock of Love with Poison singer Bret Michaels before earning her own spin-off series
‘I don’t know what it is about me but I guess god does not want me to have a job.’
De La Hoya says that at one point things got so bad for her that she ended up on the streets, where she was seriously assaulted and left with PTSD.
‘You have a different perspective after hitting rock bottom and losing everything,’ she said.
‘And I was lucky, but I’ve had to crawl my way back and I’m still crawling my way back up.’
The former reality star admits that she ‘does not have a lot of experience’ outside of the arts and entertainment, but says that she previously worked as a waitress, dishwasher and at the clothing store Hot Topic as a teenager.
She was also an exotic dancer in Denver, where she was raised, but she left that life behind after getting cast on TV.
‘I don’t think of myself as being famous or being somebody, I just think of myself as a person who did a thing and wants to continue to be part of the entertainment industry,’ she explained.
‘But sometimes I think I need to just give up on entertainment because at this point I just need a job.’
The 42-year-old has started applying for jobs at McDonald’s and Del Taco but says she hasn’t been able to find work
De La Hoya was left with PTSD after being assaulted on the street, telling Our News Outlet that she ‘hit rock bottom’ and has been ‘crawling her way back up’ ever since
The former reality star still dreams of becoming a serious musician, but she says that she’s open to doing any kind of work right now
She briefly found employment doing door-to-door fundraising for a nonprofit, but says she was heartbroken when they fired her for ‘not being good enough’.
Outside of her job search, De La Hoya’s been studying musical theatre in the hopes of getting back into the entertainment industry, but she insists that she’s open to doing any kind of work right now.
‘I’d work at McDonald’s, Starbucks, anything. Maybe I’m overqualified or maybe I’m underqualified, I don’t know,’ she sighed.
She also cleared up the misconception that she got rich from reality TV, revealing that she was paid a flat rate of $50,000 for her 2009 spin-off Daisy of Love and that she receives no residuals from reruns or streaming.
‘It’s still there on streaming platforms but I don’t get any of that money,’ she said.
‘The good news is that I’m still getting fans and people can watch it, but I don’t get any money from it. I’m poor and homeless, that’s the truth.’
De La Hoya said that most of her old celebrity pals have slipped away over the years, although she’s still incredibly close with former child star Corey Feldman.
‘He’s my only celebrity friend and one of my best friends,’ she said.
‘He helps me all the time, but not with money or anything. He helps me morally and does what he can for me, but he tells me that I have to do it on my own,’ she continued.
‘I’m not his nepo baby or anything, but he gives me suggestions of things I can do.’
At the height of her fame in 2008, De La Hoya partied with iconic rock stars like Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro
De La Hoya was a fixture on red carpets and well on her way to becoming an artist in her own right but substance abuse issues derailed her budding music career
One of Feldman’s suggestions was for De La Hoya to start a GoFundMe page, but she admits that she’s hesitant to ‘beg people for money’.
‘That to me is weird,’ she said. ‘I don’t want people to be like, “Oh, poor her.” Because big deal, other people are hurting and suffering all the time.’
She also didn’t hold back when asked if she still speaks to Bret Michaels, who inadvertently helped make her famous on Rock of Love.
‘No, no, no, no,’ she said. ‘I don’t talk to him whatsoever. No, no, no!’
Despite the hardships she’s faced, De La Hoya still dreams of one day becoming a ‘respectable working actress’ and wants to be ‘taken seriously’ in the music business.
‘I want to do it full time. It’s my craft and that’s what I came here to do. I studied music,’ she said.
De La Hoya has been studying musical theatre and is still hoping to work professionally in the entertainment industry
The former Daisy of Love star is now sober and officially graduated from The Mcalister Institute last year, which is an addiction treatment center based in San Diego
Despite her struggles, De La Hoya is hopeful for the future and says that she’s focused on her sobriety, mental health and finding a job
She also wants to use her voice to become an advocate for other people who are struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues, specifically when it comes to suicide prevention.
But for now, De La Hoya is sleeping on a friend’s couch and job hunting daily in a bid to get back on her feet.
‘I’m staying with a friend but it’s a temporary thing, and I’m in school and looking for a freakin’ job,’ she said.
She’s also focused on maintaining her sobriety, which she admits is a lifelong struggle.
‘I do everything that the treatment centers and the therapist and everyone tells me to do because it’s important,’ she said.
‘This is something that you do for the rest of your life. It’s not something that you do once a week or for a weekend retreat and you’re done.
‘For me, this is my entire life, my every day. This does not go away and everything is hard. It’s like learning to relive your life.’
