Inside Josie Gibson’s wild life – drug-dealing grandma, family tragedy and TV fame

She is one of the most popular presenters on the ITV daytime talk show This Morning.

And it appears as though Josie Gibson is only getting more and more brilliant with age. The blonde bombshell has gone from strength to strength since she won Big Brother back in 2010.

She has since appeared in various reality shows before she landed a position on the hugely popular talk show in 2019. During her time on the show she has been able to develop her skills as a TV presenter and even landed a permanent hosting gig on the famous blue sofa in 2021.

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Fans fell in love with her kind heart and bubbly personality during her time on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! when she gave viewers an insight into her life away from the cameras. As she celebrates her 39th birthday with a bang, Daily Star has taken a deep dive inside the presenter’s rollercoaster life.

‘Old-fashioned’ childhood

The This Morning host was the oldest of seven siblings who grew up in the heart of Bristol. Growing up in a house with three brothers and three sisters, the family held on to their traveller roots and frequently took caravan trips over the summer.

The large family would often live for months in the countryside with no electricity, gas or running water, with their horses to look after. Her mum Mandy told MailOnline: “We’d be gone for eight weeks at a time, we are old-fashioned people, that’s how we live.

“When you live in the van then you don’t waste water, electricity or your time. We’ve always had horses, traps and carriages, we are simple people and we live a simple way of life.”

Family heartache

At the age of 10, Josie suffered a devastating tragedy when her father, who hasn’t been publicly named, was killed in a fight. Reports claim that he bled to death after he was stabbed in the leg during a brawl.

Speaking to Now magazine in 2010, the blonde bombshell explained that her father was killed in a tragic family love triangle. It is understood a fight ensued when it came to light that her father was having an affair with her uncle’s partner.

Her uncle was later convicted of his manslaughter after his death.

The TV presenter told Closer that she had “horrible memories” of seeing a former partner’s violence against her mum when she was little. In 2022, Josie shared a touching story about her son Reggie, six, communicating with her late father’s spirit.

She explained: “He said, ‘Mummy, he’s behind you now. He’s so nice because he’s your dad’.

“My dad died when I was really young but I’ve never had a conversation about my dad with my son. Reg said, ‘He told me to tell you he loves you very much.’”

Drug-dealing grandma

In 2013, the Big Brother star faced another bout of family heartache when her grandmother was jailed for a series of drug offences. The TV personality attended court as her nan Diane Gibson, who was 72 at the time, was sentenced to four years and three months behind bars.

Her gran had been on the run for more than 12 years after she had been convicted of possessing cocaine with intent to supply in 2000. Her original arrest came in 1998 at a motorway services where she was found to have 2.9kg of cocaine – valued at £240,000 at the time – in the boot of her car.

She was bailed to return to court for her sentence but failed to appear and lived away from her family in caravans in the North of England. Diane was arrested again in 2013 at a relative’s home in south Gloucestershire where she was imprisoned for her crimes.

Unlucky in love

Josie has been unlucky in love over the years which soon hit the headlines when she was catapulted to fame on Big Brother in 2010.

During her time on the hugely popular reality show, she fell in love with her Aussie housemate John James. The pair immediately hit it off whilst living in the famous house and dated for just under a year after the show ended.

But their love wasn’t built to last and the pair went their separate ways less than 12 months later. In 2012, plumber Luke Sanwo popped the question to the TV presenter just six months after they met.

However, in 2015, the pair decided to call off their engagement with Josie later telling New magazine at the time: “Me and Luke have had a chat and we’re going to take a break from our relationship.

“The passion is slowly drifting and now it’s virtually non-existent. I feel like it’s the right thing to do at the moment.” Two years later, the former flames became embroiled in a social media spat after Josie shared a series of messages the plumber had reportedly sent her.

She captioned the explosive screen shots: “Yes you are going to regret this because you had a gf when you sent this message. Pay me back the money I lent you. #snake.”

‘Homeless’ split

In 2017, Josie fell in love with property developer and family friend Terry began back in 2017. It is understood the couple had known each other for more than two decades before they took their relationship to the next level.

During their relationship, Josie and Terry welcomed their little boy Reggie in September 2018, but five months later they broke up. In a previous interview with New! magazine, Jose revealed that the pair had been left homeless when Terry kicked the out of the house.

On New Year’s Eve in 2018, the pair got involved in a heated row which forced her to move out. She told the publication: “He’s got OCD and just after Christmas, he went mad about too many of my shoes being in the hallway.

“So I kicked off and said, ‘Well, we’ll go then!’ and he went, ‘Alright’ and bagged up our stuff. So Reggie and me headed to a hotel.”

During her time in the ITV jungle, Josie revealed that she is ready to get back into the dating scene when she asked her co-star and First Dates chef Fred Sirieix for dating advice.

Weight loss journey

Throughout her career, Josie has been extremely open about her weight gain and weight loss. Shortly after she left the famous Big Brother house, Josie inspired countless people across the country to lose weight along with her when she dropped from a size 20 to a size 8 in less than a year.

She lost a staggering six stone after she won the reality show and quickly became a household name. The TV star went on to release two fitness DVDs in the same year after her jaw-dropping weight loss.

In 2016, Josie underwent a tummy tuck procedure to remove excess skin from her stomach after spending years whether or not to take the plunge. After welcoming her son in 2019, Josie’s priorities changes when she realised there are more important things in life than her weight.

She said at the time: “I put on around four-and-a-half stone while I was pregnant with my son, Reggie. I realised that there was more important things to focus on in life, rather than losing weight and hating my body.”

In 2021, Josie set out her new years resolutions – which included sorting out her sleeping pattern, drinking more water and doing 30-45 minutes of exercise at least three times a week along with a healthy diet.

Josie lost 10lb in just one month after she reached 17 stone. She lost weight through health eating and exercise after she struggled to keep up with her son Reggie.

The presenter told The Sun last June: “I couldn’t catch him [Reggie] – he was running away from me and I was struggling to keep up with him. The thing is it’s not only about the weight for me – I feel great.

“I feel so good. I was eating a lot of stodge before, but I can’t tell you the difference it’s made to my energy.”

Cruel trolls

Despite her extremely positive attitude. Josie admitted she had “years of hating” her body. In 2022, she revealed she made joked about her figure when she fell victim to a yo-yo dieting but was “deeply unhappy” and worried no one would ever love her.

She even once thought she would be “obese for life” after cruel comments from social media left her feeling rock bottom. Speaking to New! magazine at the time, Josie recalled her previous attitude to her own body and diet struggles.

The host confessed: “I hid my pain and tears with humour, making jokes about myself before others could. But inside, I was deeply unhappy, convinced I’d be obese for life and that no-one could ever love or want me.

“I came very close one day to ending it all.” Back in 2020, Josie hit back at an unsolicited comment about her figure on social media. One cruel troll wrote: “I don’t mean to be rude but @Josiestweet is absolutely vile.

“It breaks my heart when I look at how fat she has got again.” Resharing the comment, Josie replied: “But you are being rude, so you do mean to be rude.

“Don’t let my weight gain break your heart, honestly there is so many more things in the world to care about that really do matter.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk