Michaella McCollum, the Northern Irish woman convicted of attempting to smuggle 12kg of cocaine out of Peru, has transformed her life since her release from prison. She has since earned a degree in Business Management, published a memoir, and successfully completed the seventh series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2025, becoming one of just three contestants to finish that year.
From Dungannon to Drug Smuggling
Born in 1993 in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, McCollum is described as the youngest of ten children, raised by her mother after her ex-Army father left the family. In an interview with the Irish Independent, she described living through sectarian violence, recalling how she hid in her bedroom while loyalists threw firebombs near her home.
At around 15, she fell into an unhealthy lifestyle, taking drugs and visiting nightclubs while underage. The following year, she entered an abusive relationship with an older man, which she has said left her with a cracked jaw and four broken ribs after a violent episode. Despite this, she was accepted into Belfast Metropolitan College to study photography and worked as a model and nightclub hostess.
The Peru 2 Arrest
In 2013, McCollum moved to San Antonio, Ibiza. That same year, she and Melissa Reid travelled to Lima, Peru, where they were found with 12kg of cocaine, worth approximately £500,000 at today's reported street value. The pair, dubbed the 'Peru 2', initially claimed they were forced into the act by an armed gang, though McCollum has since told a different story.
According to McCollum, a 'businessman' she met at a party introduced her to a colleague who offered her £5,000 to bring a package from mainland Spain to Ibiza. She says her bosses changed the destination from Barcelona to Majorca and eventually to Peru. She admitted in an interview with the Irish Times that she had no idea where Peru was, saying: "I feel so stupid about that as well. I had heard of a few countries in South America, I'd heard of Colombia, Brazil, but I'd never heard of Peru. I didn't know where it was."
The pair were arrested as soon as they stepped off the plane and, after a trial, were sentenced to six years in prison.
Life in a Peruvian Prison
McCollum was initially sent to Lima's Virgen de Fátima prison, known for overcrowding and occasional danger. She described horrendous conditions, including bed-bug infestations, cockroaches on the floors and walls, cellmates attempting suicide, and witnessing another inmate attacked with a shank. Despite this, she learned Spanish and ran a beauty salon for other prisoners after being granted special dispensation for good behaviour. After two and a half years, she was released and returned to Ireland.
Rebuilding at Home
After returning, McCollum appeared in documentaries about her time in prison and attempted higher education, including taking a Spanish A-Level. In July 2023, ten years after her arrest, she graduated from the University of Ulster with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Business Management, Marketing and Related Support Services.
She gave birth to twin boys in 2018 after a short relationship. Speaking to the Irish Times, she said: "I was in denial when I found out I was pregnant - 'how did this even happen?'. And then I was even more shocked when I found out they were twins. My family were like 'only you… everything extreme happens to you!" A year later, she published her book 'You'll Never See Daylight Again', with reports suggesting she had been offered £250,000 for the rights.
In 2025, she appeared on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, becoming one of just three successful contestants. She also has an impressive 100k followers on Instagram, where she posts glamorous snaps from holidays around the world.
