[Red Moon]

RAQUELLE’S BULLY HELL

STUNNING X Factor hopeful Raquelle Gracie has revealed her two-year secret torment as a victim of student bullies.

Hope band girl Raquelle, 20, confided to the Daily Star Sunday: “As soon as I started college, I had people bitching about me and saying horrible things.

“Because I was from a privileged background and my family had money, people took an instant dislike to me.

“I was carrying a bit of puppy fat and that gave them even more ammunition to have a go at me.

“It never got physical but it was still relentless bullying for two years.

“After a while, it really weighs you down and, if you’re not strong enough, it can really ruin your life.

“I did break down and cry about it sometimes. But, on the whole, it made me more determined to do well and succeed.

“So I guess, in a way, they helped make me the person I am today.”

Raquelle’s nightmare began in 2003 after she joined the Italia Conti drama school in London – where she dated Strictly Come Dancing heart-throb Matt Di Angelo.

By this time, her father, Muhammed Naviede, had been released from prison after being sentenced to nine years on fraud charges.

And, thanks to his multi-millions, she was one of the few students who could afford the expensive fees without gaining a scholarship.

She said: “My dad would drop me off in his Mercedes and I would get taunted as soon as he had driven away.

“It was hard because I didn’t feel I had done anything to deserve it. Some people were just jealous that my family had money and they took it out on me.
“The fact my father had been in prison didn’t help.”

Raquelle decided to speak out to promote Anti- Bullying Week which starts tomorrow.

Before Hope’s performance on the ITV1 show yesterday, she told us: “I don’t want people to feel sorry for me at all.

“I just want them to know that, if you are strong-willed and determined, it can make you stronger.”

Source: Daily Star