As former The Only Way Is Essex star Joey Essex lands in the Love Island villa, we take a look at his devastating childhood, including the death of his mum when he was just 10
Joey Essex may be famed for his happy-go-lucky persona and mega-white smile, but the Love Island star's life didn't get off to the happiest of starts. When he was just a ten years old, his life was turned upside down as his mum Tina took her own life.
During an emotional BBC documentary in 2021, 33 year old Joey bared his soul about the trauma he'd carried following his mum's suicide, admitting it had taken him over a decade and a half to even mention her. "It was only two or three years ago, I think I was 27, where I sort of just started to be able to say 'Mum'," he confessed during the deeply moving programme, Joey Essex: Grief and Me.
He expressed gratitude to the BBC for their crucial part in his healing process, stating: "I feel like the BBC have done me a massive favour." A year after the documentary, in March 2022, Joey took to Instagram to share a childhood snap of himself lying next to his mother. The image was accompanied by a caption which read: "It don't get easier, but I do this all for you. I got nothing to prove to anyone but you mum. I'll keep trying to make you proud.
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