Borba, 52, moved in glamorous circles during his years in the beauty industry, a period he now describes as defined by excess and pride.
"We ran around with the likes of, Paris Hilton, and partying with Kardashians and just doing up the Hollywood life," Borba said. "I was a poster boy for luxury living. I was not in any which way humble. I was very prideful."
Borba, a deacon, is a seminarian at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, living a life that contrasts sharply with his earlier years.
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"I live in a little tiny room with.. it's sparse, nothing in it," Borba said. "I have a few bits of clothes and a few pairs of shoes. And my life has been culled down to the bare minimum."
Born in San Jose, Borba attended Santa Clara University. He is scheduled to be ordained May 23 in Visalia by the Diocese of Fresno, a path considered uncommon in the Catholic Church.
According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the average age for new priests is 33.
Zach Flanagin, Ph.D., a professor of theology and religious studies at Saint Mary's College of California, said only 3% of the current class of seminarians are over 50.
Flanagin said Borba's journey stands out.
"I think that a story like his is a great opportunity to inspire people," Flanagin said. "And certainly, his call, I hope it's genuinely successful, because if it is, then then he will, hopefully bring in people to know Christ."
Borba said he first felt called to religious life at the age of 10, but resisted for decades. In his 40s, he said he experienced a sudden loss of joy that prompted a turning point.
"I asked our Lord to help me be the man that he created me to be," Flanagin said. "And upon that instance, I had this massive flood of love and mercy that came into my life. It was a very mystical experience."
After that moment, he said, he gave away his fortune to charity. Once a beauty expert on Home Shopping Network, Borba now focuses on service and ministry.
While he is much poorer when it comes to his possessions, when it comes to his happiness, he's never been richer.
"I have never been happier in my life," Borba said. "Once I started to reorient myself, recalibrate myself with God's help to the focus to Him, the joy started coming."