Jennifer Ellison's low-key life away from showbiz after 'traumatic' relationship
Jennifer Ellison was subject to a 'traumatic' time in her formative years, after getting involved with gangster ex Tony Richardson at the age of just 16 - here's how she turned everything around
Soap icon Jennifer Ellison rose to fame as Emily Shadwick in Channel 4 's Liverpool-based show Brookside. Having joined the show aged just 15, she was by her own admission, a "baby", but she was forced to grow up quickly, after fame and her abusive relationship pushed her abruptly into adulthood.
When she left the show in 2002, after four years, her character was killed off during a robbery, when she fell from a window. But her personal life had become more dramatic than her on-screen saga, with her ex partner's gang activities threatening her life.
With the actress was dragged into the criminal underworld, she managed to end the relationship when he was unfaithful to her. Since then, she's turned it around, opting for a low-key life away from showbiz, as she started a family and finally got her 'happy ever after'.
Although she happily runs her own business in Liverpool, the star occasionally dabbles showbiz. Over the years, Jennifer had made appearances on reality TV show Hell's Kitchen, ITV's Dancing On Ice and most recently Celebrity SAS: Who Dares wins. Here we look at what lead to her peaceful life as a dance studio owner.
Double life
When Jennifer met gangster Tony Richardson in 1999, she was just 16 years old and within 12 months the pair were engaged. But during her formative years, Jennifer was subjected to abuse and violence, with her older boyfriend controlling and hurting her - a far cry from her showbiz lifestyle, glamour model shoots and glitzy parties.
Jennifer has since admitted she endured a catalogue of abuse, including a broken collar bone and a beer bottle smashed over her head. Jennifer told Cosmopolitan in 2013: "The attacks started pretty early on in our relationship. It began with mental rather than physical abuse. He'd criticise how I looked, accuse me of flirting with other men and question me all the time about who I'd been with and where I'd been.
"Once, about six years ago, he smashed me over the head with a beer bottle in front of all my friends. My face, eyes, hair and mini dress were covered in blood. I was told Tony ran out of the London club we were in, chased by bouncers."
Jennifer confessed that she would avoid seeing friends and family when she had bruises from his attacks, willing him to change. She added: "I can't tell you how many times I lied to protect him. When he broke my collarbone in 2005, I told doctors I'd fallen, because I thought it was my fault."
Outside their relationship, Jennifer was also constantly looking over her shoulder thanks to Tony's criminal activity. She was embroiled in more violence, from fire-bombings to drive-by shootings. The tumultuous era came to a close when her partner was caught cheating on her with footballer John Terry's ex, Shalimar Wimble.
But far from being devastated, Jennifer described his unfaithfulness as a "get out of jail free card", admitting she finally had a reason to leave. Tony was later jailed for eight years after being convicted of a sword attack in Liverpool.
Body image and weight gain
Jennifer's weight has been under scrutiny following her lad's mags days, meaning the star's body image has suffered. She went up to a size 18 following the births of her children, before slimming down to a size 10 over three months in 2017.
But Jennifer rightfully hit back at her critics. Speaking to Lorraine previously, she explained her weight peaked in 2015 after the birth of her third son. Jennifer declared: "I don't care about trolls. What I look like is not a priority." She added: "My husband still looks at me the way he did when I was nine stone, after doing my fitness DVD. I'm happy and feel so loved. He thinks I'm the sexiest woman in the world.
"So I'm not worried, because he finds me as attractive as he always did and he loves my bum and my boobs. If he turned round and said I didn't look too good, I would do more about it but he thinks I'm stunning. Love is blind."
But in a bid to kick her sugar addiction, she appeared on ITV reality show Sugar Free Farm in 2015 and shed the weight once again. In 2017, she proudly shared her achievement on Instagram: "Ok so today was measurements day! ! ! So proud to say I've lost a further massive 6.5 inches of body fat in a month! And today I felt brave enough to take a pic after training without a big baggy top over! ! ! I've gone from a size 18 to a 10 in just over 3 months."
She added: "I still have a long way to go to get back to what I was but 2 stone lighter and 27 inches of body fat later I'm feeling SOOOO much better! Thanks to the most amazing trainer ever Tony Swift for keeping our sessions amazing and challenging and to my training partner Rob Tickle who's absolutely smashing the results too."
Reality TV 'therpay'
Although she appeared to have put her traumatic past behind her, taking part in 2022's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins opened up old wounds, as she faced her demons. Jennifer opened up to former Commando Jason 'Foxy' Fox in the show's famous mirror room, admitting her life with Tony left her feeling worthless.
She explained at the time: "It was a volatile relationship and he was connected with this other world, this gangland world. For years and years I thought that life was normal and bad things like that happened to everyone because it happened in the world I was in.
"I was having nails in my letter box, going into hiding and fearing for your life walking down the street. That's not normal. It's just been one of those things that I kind of buried, just kind of got on with life and got on with everything.
'I look back and think how it was so traumatic. It was so horrific what I was going through. I was such a young girl, I was a baby. I feel like opening up in the mirror room about that has put that part of my life to bed. It was like the best therapy session ever.'
Jennifer's happy ever after
Years after splitting from Tony, Jennifer's life is now content and peaceful as she focuses on her family and her dance school. Jennifer met boxer Rob Tickle in 2008, with the pair tying the knot in Mauritius the year after.
They've been happily married ever since and Jen has become a mother to their three sons, Bobby, 12, Harry, seven, and Charlie, six. She is also stepmum to two daughters, Sophie and Chloe, both 24.
Now, Jennifer enjoys getting involved in productions with her dance school, and spending time with her family. She regularly shares their trips on social media.
Recently, Jennifer shared her skiing trip with her boys, writing: "The most magical trip ever, with the bestest people you will ever meet! Never in a million years did I think I would enjoy something so much and even more so because I watched my boys have the time of their lives, skiing, making snow balls, sledging, playing darts, UNO, snap they did it all not a phone in sight and wow was it a dream! Memories that will last a lifetime time, a trip we will never forget"
And her and Rob are going strong after 17 years together. The couple recently spent some child-free time together in the Scottish Highlands, where they ate delicious-looking food and explored the outdoors.
Jennifer shared a series of photos of them together, writing: "Thank you my love for the most gorgeous time away! Loved spending quality time just the two of us, celebrating 17 amazing years together.
"So lucky to have you and can't wait for the rest of our lives together. Love you forever and always @tickle.rob."
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