On four occasions, Greg will have made the cover of Public. Nineteen years later, he is still not a millionaire… Today, his most precious asset is his family!
Public: Public is celebrating its number 1000 and you were on the cover of our first issue, in 2003… Do you remember that?
Gregory Basso: How can we forget, it was my first cover at the time! I was in a photo with Marika.
Do you still have that number 1?
Oh yes ! I even have the scan of the cover. It was cool for me to be on the cover of a magazine for the first time, especially for its launch. I was proud, it was a mark of confidence from the Public.
Marika was your crush at the time?
Honestly, during the show, I didn’t really have a crush… It happened afterwards. I couldn’t have fallen in love like that during the show, in front of the cameras! To have a relationship, you have to know the person, be whole and honest with them. There, I had to talk nonsense all the way! (Laughs) In short, it happened afterwards (with Marika, editor’s note) and it was better that way.
Are you still in contact with her?
We talk to each other from time to time but that’s no longer the bond we had at the time, obviously. It always makes me happy to hear from him. She wished to become anonymous again and she runs a tattoo shop in Nantes.
What are your worst and best interview memories?
I don’t remember a particularly unpleasant interview… It doesn’t come back to me. Well, in the articles, there are sometimes small spikes… We wonder why, but if they like it… Above all, I came across lots of very nice journalists. As a rule, it has always gone well.
Have you ever hit on journalists?
It could have happened to me once or twice, maybe… or made me flirt too, rather! I particularly remember one! (Laughs) But hey, the files, I keep them… No name! (Laughs)
Have some people written huge nonsense about you?
Oh yes, there was a lot of bullshit said about me! But I won’t go into the details… Moreover, on Wikipedia, it seems that my name was Olivier I-don’t-know-how. I don’t know where it comes from but it’s absurd. I had it modified at one time, and it was put back… A delirium!
Have you done a lot of cover since?
Not bad… TV magazines in particular, even in Belgium, in Canada, when the show was broadcast there. But it’s been a while since you’ve seen my face on the cover. (Laughs)
In 2003, you were 29 and suddenly found yourself in the spotlight. How did you experience it?
It was impressive because when the show came out, it was a big buzz. People were jumping on me! I remember that one day, I was in a cafe with a friend, who said to me: “I’m warning you, you keep your cap, you lower your head, you follow me, you don’t turn around!”Twenty meters further on, we had fifty people around us! Another time, I was in a car in the rue de Rivoli, in Paris, people recognized me, stopped and that created an impossible traffic jam… Creepy! People want to touch you because, as they know you from the show, they think you’re their friend… At first, it’s really oppressive.
Do you have an anecdote to tell us that you have never told?
There are one or two unspeakable things! (Laughs) But I can tell you that I don’t have sea legs and, every time I took the boat, I just wanted to throw up. And it was horrible because I always had a camera crew following me! I was in big trouble. (Laughs)
“Reality TV has become trash, insults, confusion, sex…”
No one has forgotten your phrase: “I’m hard everywhere.” Are we still talking about it?
Leave me alone with this. I’m still tough. (Laughs)
Did you change your life after the show?
It allowed me to travel to meet lots of different people. I am happy.
Do you watch reality TV today?
Frankly, I don’t watch much TV anymore… Even last year, when I hosted Les Vacances des anges, I didn’t watch all the episodes! (Laughs) Today, I don’t have the same life, I am the father of three children, I no longer have the same priorities…
Do you think there has been an evolution in reality TV?
There is no longer the respect that there was at the time. Today, everything is trash, insults, confusion, sex… If we look at Greg the millionaire, there is only one kiss between Marika and me at the very end! Today, the young people who join these programs have seen that they can earn so much money – we didn’t earn much at the time – that it has simply become an industry. Good for them.
At the time, Public had interviewed you in a bistro, Jean Dujardin had come to greet you… On your birthday, the then Miss France, Sylvie Tellier, had tumbled. Do you miss this life, fame?
With Jean, we trained in the same gym. He was already playing in A guy, a girl, he knew the success then he exploded. We lived in the same neighborhood, he was a very simple, very humble person despite his popularity. As for Miss France, I confess that I don’t remember! (Laughs) Today, my Miss is at home, my wife was the first runner-up to Miss France 2003. But the beautiful Parisian evenings are a bit lacking all the same because, here, in Reunion where I live, I’m going around in circles a bit… I want to go back to mainland France, and why not do some TV, theater again…
What is your life like today and what are your plans?
I have been in a relationship with Ornella for eight years and we have three children. I am the oldest step-dad and my other two are 6 years old and 3 and a half years old. We have been living in Reunion for four years but I am preparing our return to the South of France. I am looking for land to create a beautiful glamping: a charming and luxury campsite on a human scale, in Provence. A big project that is close to my heart.
See also: “Strings introduced”, “feet licking”: Nathalie Andreani (Secret Story 8) lifts the veil on these requests that allowed her to become a millionaire
Beatrice New