Happier now she has turned 30 ... Singer and DJ Havana Brown at I'm A Celebrity. Get Me Out Of Here!
Camera IconHappier now she has turned 30 ... Singer and DJ Havana Brown at I'm A Celebrity. Get Me Out Of Here! Credit: Channel 10, Nigel Wright / Channel Ten

Havana Brown reveals her age, love life and why she’s on I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!

Jonathon MoranNews Corp Australia

TURNING 30 was a complete game changer for notoriously private muso Havana Brown.

The chart topping singer and DJ very rarely speaks about her life outside of the public eye.

She’s avoided speaking about her age. Talk of her real name has generally been off limits.

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And she’s only recently revealed she’s engaged to her manager and friend of more than nine years, former Young Talent Time performer Vince Deltito.

“I have previously said no to everything but I think I am missing out on great opportunities,” she tells News Corp Australia, sitting down at a safari lodge near Kruger National Park before the launch of I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!

“Maybe it will be a good thing for people to get to know me. They can either like me because they feel like they know me or they can hate me because they’ve seen me and don’t like me. It’s fine if people don’t like me but at least they can make a judgment and not just by the way I look.”

Brown, whose birth name is Angelique Meunier — celebrated her 30th birthday last February.

“I am much happier since turning 30. I thought it would be a stress but I’ve loved it. I feel a bit more liberated,” she said. “I go out more. My partner, Vince, is so surprised at how much has changed. I want people over at the house all the time. Any excuse to make memories. It really did change when I turned 30, I felt a real big click and it’s gotten better. I want every girl to know it’s a good thing turning 30.”

... and showing off her slender frame on I'm A Celebrity.
Camera Icon... and showing off her slender frame on I'm A Celebrity. Credit: Channel 10, Network Ten
Havana Brown says she is a bit more comfortable with who she is.
Camera IconHavana Brown says she is a bit more comfortable with who she is. Credit: Channel 10, Nigel Wright / Channel Ten.

Brown isn’t one to waffle on in an interview. She generally speaks in shorter sentences and doesn’t give a lot away.

But life has changed dramatically because on this topic she speaks freely, like she’s getting something off her chest.

“I am comfortable with who I am a bit more,” she declares. “In your 20s you just worry so much. You are so stressed about where you’re going, what you’re doing and where you’re going to be at 30. I did put in a lot of work. I feel like I’m in a place where I’m really comfortable and I don’t have to worry so much what people think of me.”

Brown is one of 12 celebrities competing in the second season of Ten’s popular reality show, I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! Her camp mates include Shane Warne, Bonnie Lythgoe, Jo Beth Taylor, Brendan Fevola and Paul Harragon.

The first contestants were Laurina Fleure, Havana, Brendan Fevola, Val Lehman, Jo Beth Taylor and Dean Geyer.
Camera IconThe first contestants were Laurina Fleure, Havana, Brendan Fevola, Val Lehman, Jo Beth Taylor and Dean Geyer. Credit: Channel 10, Nigel Wright / Channel Ten / ITV Studios

She started as a DJ before branching out to releasing her own music. Her hit, We Run The Night, sold millions of copies internationally and topped America’s Billboard Dance chart.

Her other biggest hits include Warrior, Big Banana and You’ll Be Mine.

“I’m doing this for the challenge,” says Brown, who has also released 14 Crave dance compilation albums and is planning on releasing her next studio album as a singer when she gets out of the jungle.

“I like the idea of putting myself in a situation I would never put myself in. I want to see how I will react. I believe I am strong but I want to prove it to myself. And it’s going to be a memory I will have for the rest of my life. It is about stories to tell, that’s what you live for.”

While doing our News Corp Australia photo shoot, Brown goofily shows off some dance moves. It’s a side of her she doesn’t usually show in public.

“Maybe this is bringing the goofy side out in me,” she laughs.

... by Havana challenging herself in the camp.
Camera Icon... by Havana challenging herself in the camp. Credit: Channel 10, Nigel Wright / Channel Ten
The singer and DJ wants to prove to herself she is strong.
Camera IconThe singer and DJ wants to prove to herself she is strong. Credit: Channel 10, Nigel Wright / Channel Ten / ITV Studios

Brown is always camera ready in the outside world, and most of the time with a full face of make-up and designer a red carpet frock.

It’s only recently that she’s embraced the title feminist as she previously thought she didn’t fit that mould.

“I used to not like saying I am a feminist because I didn’t believe that I had to be,” she says. “Everyone has their difficulties that they’re confronted with in life in every industry but I am a massive feminist. Everything I say, do and represent was feminism without even saying it.”

She continued: “My industry was a very male dominated industry. I can tell you now, being one of the first female DJs, I took a lot of shots. Being female, can I not be into music or into technical equipment?”

As for her partner Vince, who is running her social media accounts while she’s in the jungle, Brown still won’t give much away.

She won’t address rumours the pair married in secret before she flew to South Africa.

“Vince is very self-assured, very comfortable with himself,” she explains. “He trusts me. There are so many things I love about him. He is quietly confident. He is not a big showman. I’ve always liked the guy that doesn’t talk that much. I’ve always found that very attractive. In a public situation he doesn’t need to say anything and I love that, I think that is really sexy.”

She added: “He is a gentleman and that is very important to me. That’s the sexiest thing. I love the way he looks after me, the way he cares for me, the way he is able to handle me if I’m being a brat. I feel like we level each other out. He is able to handle me very well and treats me with a lot of respect. Ever since I’ve turned 30 I’ve become a bit of a wild child.”

Brown’s personal happiness is likely to be reflected in her next studio album, which she’s planning on releasing off the back of her appearance on I’m A Celebrity.

“I am changing as an artist,” she says. “It’s a different sound but still dance in a sense that I want you to dance to it. There’s a lot of love in there for some reason and I never talk about love. I am not usually soft like that.”

* The journalist is in South Africa as a guest of Channel Ten covering I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

Originally published as Havana a good time after hitting 30