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90 Day Fiancé's Nikki Exotika (Nicole Sanders) is one of Reality TV's most intriguing personalities. The recording artist from New Jersey has spent over $1 million on surgery becoming a real-life Barbie.
Nikki always dreamed of becoming a pop star and started that journey at a young age. She looked to follow in the footsteps of her favorite performers like the 'Queen of Pop' Madonna and Janet Jackson.
That has been helped by the 47-year-old's decision to create her alter ego 'Nikki Exotika'. She explained the inspiration behind that when debuting on season 10 of 90 Day Fiancé:
"As a music artist, I created Nikki Exotika as an alter ego. I wanted to have another persona and then come home and be normal again and be Nicole."
Nikki has spent a staggering amount of money on building her image, so fans could ponder how she got her riches. We delve into the singer's net worth, childhood and reality TV career.
What is 90 Day Fiancé's Nikki Exotika's net worth?
According to multiple reports, Nikki is worth between $1 and $3.9 million, which explains her expenditure. That has come through her successful music recording career.
Nikki has released hit singles like Your Body and a cover of Kylie Minogue's dance anthem Padam Padam. Those two songs have 33,062 streams on Spotify between them to date.
The New Jersey resident also makes a handsome sum from her appearances on TLC's 90 Day Fiancé. She debuted on the series in season 10, and cast members are believed to earn around $1,000 to $1,500 per episode.
Nikki's childhood: Choir singing, bullying and bond with Octavia St. Laurent
Nikki's first steps towards her music career began during school. Her website explains that she was in a marching band, choir and after-school theatre club.
However, Nikki unfortunately dealt with bullying during her youth, which led to a constant change of scenery. That's explained in her biography:
"Nikki grew up by the Jersey Shore but she moved around a lot, so it was hard for her to keep friends, every time she changed schools she was bullied all over again for being different and unique."
The reality star headed to New York after graduating from high school and met Paris is Burning actress Octavia St. Laurent, whom she idolized.
She asked the late American model and AIDS educator if she would be her "gay (trans) mother." Nikki's biography credits Octavia with 'teaching' the singer 'everything she knows' including fashion. But singing was the main inspiration she took from her idol.
"Nikki (was inspired) to be a singer as Octavia was a beautiful Songstress herself."
The biography also explained the 90 Day Fiancé star's surgery process and how it took two years for her to feel comfortable to start her 'new life':
"Within two years time, Nikki already had her GRS surgery in Montreal Canada. Once she was complete in her new body, she felt comfortable to begin her NEW life."
Nikki's transition: When did the reality star undergo gender reassignment?
Nikki underwent gender reassignment surgery at the age of 19. She'd initially had issues getting her mother to accept that she wanted to transition.
90 Day Fiancé fans were introduced to her mom, Myrna, on season 10 episode 2. She gave birth to Nikki on January 27, 1982, and her thoughts were that she would become a 'freak' if she transitioned from a boy to a girl.
That came when Nikki was 17 and was a devastating period for the TLC personality. She and Myrna didn't speak but reconciled, and the latter accepted her as her daughter.
Nikki has since kept quiet about being born a biological male, which has caused issues between her and her current boyfriend Justin.
She accidentally let the news out two years into their relationship. He was so shocked and betrayed that he left the US for his homeland of Moldova and lived with depression for years.
The two have since reconnected, and their relationship is on display in 90 Day Fiancé. They reportedly met 17 years before their reality TV debut on a dating site in Moldova.
Nikki's other ventures: Beauty School and acting
Nikki isn't only known for her music career and appearance on 90 Day Fiancé.
She attended beauty school in 2001 where she obtained her license in cosmetology. The social media star claims that "aesthetic is makeup," which explains the $1 million she's spent on surgery.
The singer has also delved into acting and was involved in a docu-movie titled Trantasia released in 2006. A behind-the-scenes look at the first-ever 'World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Pageant', it starred names like Cassandra Cass and Mimi Marks.
Fans can catch Nikki Exotika and her fellow 90 Day Fiancé's cast members on Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on TLC.
