Jodie Marsh ditched red carpets and paparazzi in favour of a quieter life after a 'horrific' family tragedy. The TV personality , 45, shot into the spotlight in the early 2000s as a glamour model, memorably sporting her daring belt dresses and viciously feuding with fellow lads' mags heavyweight Katie Price . But two decades later, the Celebrity Big Brother star has left it all behind to dedicate her time to helping animals in need.
In 2020, Jodie opened Fripps Farm , an animal rescue sanctuary in Essex, and has since lived a stripped-back life away from the glitz and glamour of showbiz. In recent weeks, she has been appealing the refusal of an application to Uttlesford District Council about keeping lemurs at her private sanctuary. It was with a heavy heart that Jodie announced the death of her beloved mum Kristina in September 2020 from cancer.
Taking to Twitter , she wrote: "My beautiful, classy, kind, generous, clever, incredible mum passed away this morning. She was my best friend and the strongest woman I know. "She was the best mum in the world and the best human you could ever wish to know.
I love you so so much Mum. How do I do this without you?" Just four months before, Jodie told how her mum had been 'turfed out of hospital' because of the Covid pandemic, despite battling an aggressive form of cancer, and admitted she was 'fading fast' at home. In an interview with Mail Online earlier this year, Jodie spoke about how her mother's death inspired her to open Fripps Farm and fulfil her lifelong dream.
She said: "I gave up work and gave up everything to care for my mum. And that was what made me realise that life's too short, watching my mum die in front of me. "Why would I go and do another TV show or another photoshoot or whatever it is when that's not what I want to be doing in life? That's not what's gonna make me happy.
What's gonna make me happy is having an animal sanctuary, because it's the only thing I've ever truly wanted. I always knew that was the end goal." But looking back to the beginning, the star has no regrets about glamour modelling.
"I could've been a lawyer by now, I could've gone to uni," Jodie once told the Guardian . "But I've taken the quickest and easiest route to making as much money as I can, and having as much fun as I can, and I don't regret that." The staunch animal rights activist is now enjoying life on her farm in Great Dunmow, Essex.
In a recent social media snap, Jodie looked unrecognisable as she posed at her sanctuary with pals, including EastEnders star Jessie Wallace . She was seen make-up-free with her bleached hair tied back into a ponytail while wearing a jumper which read: "Stop Eating Dead Animals"..
