How I’m A Celeb’s Josie Gibson overcame troubled childhood & dad’s violent death to become jungle queen favourite
The former Big Brother winner witnessed domestic abuse at home as a child
SHE’S been battling snakes and critters in the jungle and was overcome with fear when faced with spiders in the Bushtucker Trials.
But I’m a Celebrity star Josie Gibson is a born fighter after a tough upbringing and series of tragedies which rocked her family.
The This Morning host, 38, was the oldest of seven and lost her dad to a violent death at age of 10.
But her close knit family, from Bristol, have always pulled together through some difficult times, and given the determination to become a daytime favourite.
Here we look at how the single mum’s rollercoaster life has shaped the budding jungle queen she has become.
Caravan summers
Josie, who has three sisters and three brothers, grew up in a house in Bristol.
Mum Mandy, a horse trainer, previously revealed the family held on to their traveller roots with frequent caravan trips, decamping for entire summers where they’d have no electricity, gas or running water for months.
“We’d be gone for eight weeks at a time, we are old-fashioned people, that’s how we live,” Mandy told Mail Online.
“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.”
She added: “It’s very different to the life [Josie] leads now but I’m glad that she had the opportunity to live life in the caravan when she was a child.”
Josie claimed witnessed domestic abuse in her childhood and told Closer she had “horrible memories” of seeing a former partner’s violence against her mum as a child.
Dad’s tragic death
Josie suffered tragedy at the tender age of 10 when her father, who hasn’t been publicly named, was killed in a fight.
He reportedly bled to death after being stabbed in the leg during the brawl.
Last year Josie revealed her son Reggie, five, began talking to her dad’s spirit after she visited The Ram Inn, one of the UK’s most haunted homes, as part of a Halloween segment for This Morning.
“He said, ‘Mummy, he’s behind you now. He’s so nice because he’s your dad,’ she said. “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’.”
Protective big sister
Encouraged by her mum, Josie grew up around animals and at 14, she left home to live on her aunt’s farm, moving into a ‘wooden cabin’ where she had her own horse and cart.
Talking about her background, she said: “I’m a buffer, really, because I grew up in a house not a caravan. But we were always surrounded by caravans and horses and carts. Life was never dull!”
Josie is incredibly close to and fiercely protective of her brother Harry, two years her junior, who is deaf.
In lockdown she voiced her anger after being turned away from three restaurants with Harry, his wife and their children for refusing to wear face masks.
She told Loose Women the couple felt “cut off” from society when masks were introduced because they depended on lip reading and facial expressions to understand what was being said.
In 2014 Harry – who Josie affectionately calls Mook – was left with a fractured nose and other facial injuries after being punched at a nightclub in Bristol, while celebrating her birthday.
Although she rarely talks about her siblings, Josie posted a glam picture with all three sisters in April for youngest Ria’s 21st birthday.
Posing with Ria, Ruby and Anna, she wrote: “I can’t believe my baby Ria is 21 today! Thank you for everything you do for me and Reggie. I would not be where I am today without your help.”
‘Homeless’ after split
Josie has had a string of high profile romances, including with fellow Big Brother housemate James Parton.
She was also engaged to plumber Luke Sanwo during a five -year relationship which ended in 2016.
Her romance with Reggie’s dad, Terry Bond, was tempestuous and, in 2018, four months after Reggie’s birth, she spent New Year’s Eve homeless after splitting in a row over untidy shoes.
“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,” she explained.
“So Reggie and I headed to a hotel. [It was] Two days before New Year’s Eve.
“We watched the fireworks out of the window while we unpacked. It was the worst New Year’s Eve ever.”
The pair rekindled the romance briefly in lockdown but split after a few months and they’re now co-parenting.
Mum Mandy told Radio Bristol her daughter’s strength is in her strong personality.
Asked what people will learn about Josie on I’m a Celebrity, Mandy said: “She’s down to earth, she’s kind. She’s a good team player. She’ll look after people out there.”
