Content creator Chebet Ronoh has opened up about her struggles with sudden fame and wealth, revealing that she spent much of her first million shillings on alcohol when she was just 19 years old.
Ronoh made the revelations during an interview with BBC News Africa, where she reflected on the challenges of navigating fame, friendships and financial responsibility as a teenager.
The content creator rose to prominence through viral social media videos, with her humour and quick wit earning her a growing following and attracting lucrative brand partnerships.
However, her rapid success came at a time when she was still trying to understand herself and navigate the pressures of adulthood without the guidance of established role models in Kenya’s emerging digital content industry.
“I didn’t real have role models, at that time especially in Kenya, there weren’t really a lot of creators. They were handful, they were having comedian from TV, and very few content creators. So, I was going through it as a teenager for the first time while also navigating friendship and alcohol and all these things. It was a disaster,” she revealed.
Ronoh said her introduction to alcohol had a significant impact on her personal life, opportunities and public image.
“As a teenager, I got introduced to alcohol and that really affected me, affected my opportunities, my selfhood as a person that in return was a big part of my public image. I’d say it wasn’t really easy but it was beautiful to experience.”
During the interview, Ronoh recalled making substantial amounts of money from brand deals, at one point working with four to five brands in a single month.
She said the earnings reached approximately KSh1.5 million, leaving her convinced that she was on her way to becoming a major star.
“I made my first million as a teenager at 19 and I mismanaged it. In one month, I think I was doing 4 to 5 brands and it reached like Ksh 1.5 million and I remember telling my mom, ‘Oh my God, this is it, I am going to be a star’ but my mom was trying to tell me we should invest,” Ronoh recalled.
Her mother, she said, recognised the importance of investing the money and tried to encourage her to make sound financial decisions. However, Ronoh admitted that she was not ready to listen.
“I didn’t want to hear none of that advice. So, I remember a lot of my money went to alcohol. I was still a kid, I’d say I was a teenager desperate for validation. I didn’t even know who I was, I just loved that people liked me and I wanted to prove so much to my friends,” she added.
Ronoh’s account highlights the difficulties young entertainers can face when financial success arrives before they have developed the experience or support systems needed to manage it.
She described her teenage years as a period of experimentation and a search for acceptance, during which public attention and the desire to impress friends influenced her decisions.
The content creator has since focused on personal growth and recovery, using her experiences to reflect on the consequences of her earlier choices.
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