As a former beauty queen, Danielle Lloyd was used to running in certain circles.
She was never far from the nightclub scene and surrounded by the rich and famous – which spiralled when she married footballer Jamie O’Hara and bagged the coveted WAG status.
Yet two decades on from being crowned Miss England and enjoying a taste of fame and life couldn’t be more different.
Now a doting mother-of-five the glitzy red carpet events have been swapped for the the school run and she’s no longer a WAG, having married electrician Michael O’Neill in 2019.
In fact, the Danielle who greets me at her home in Birmingham is surprisingly relatable and down to earth.
Danielle Lloyd revealed how she went from flashy Miss GB to humble mum-of-five as she opened up her home to MailOnline for a photoshoot with her four younger children (pictured with Harry, 10, Autumn, two, Ronnie, six, and George, 13
Danielle has a special bond with her youngest, as the only girls in a house of boys, and before falling pregnant she looked into gender selection treatment to fulfil her bid for a daughter
As a former beauty queen, Danielle was used to running in certain circles (pictured with Abbie Wood and Orlaith McAllister at the Miss GB finals in 2006)
She answers the door with her hair still in rollers and I’m greeted immediately by a wave of noise as the children run past.
It’s understandably a busy home given Danielle is raising five children.
The model, 40, shares sons Archie, 14, Harry, 10, and George, 13, with ex Jamie. She has son Ronnie, six, and daughter Autumn, two, with Michael.
While Archie isn’t at home today there’s more than enough commotion with the four younger children, and while they are remarkably well behaved, Danielle is the first to admit that they’re a handful!
She always envisioned having five children yet reveals the reality of motherhood has stopped her from wanting a sixth.
‘After I had Autumn, I thought I might have another one because I’d love her to have a little sister – But then Autumn got a bit bigger and a bit sassier and I was like, “Hm, no more!”‘ Danielle laughs. ‘She’s enough. She’s my little best friend.
‘I’ve got everything I want now. Every morning I go and get her out of bed, pick her up and she goes, “You’re my best friend ever”.’
It’s understandable that Danielle has a special bond with her youngest, they’re the only girls in a house of five boys.
Before falling pregnant she made no secret of the fact she wanted a little girl, even considering controversial gender selection treatment.
Danielle was hit by backlash and horrifically trolled for her decision, so does she think there was a sexist element to the criticism?
When a man is having a baby after all it’s not uncommon for him to say he wants a son.
She agrees. ‘I got a lot of people saying I should just be grateful,’ Danielle muses.
‘And obviously, I am really grateful. I’ve got four beautiful sons and they are all amazing. But I was always going to have another baby with Michael because we wanted to have two. I’m just so thankful that I did have a girl.’
There was a time when Danielle thought she would never find love again, scarred by her divorce and the ‘humiliation’ of being cheated on but now she’s happier than ever
Danielle abandoned her plans for gender selection when lockdown hit and decided to see what would happen by trying naturally
Danielle abandoned her plans for gender selection when lockdown hit and decided to see what would happen by trying naturally.
‘I did a blood test six weeks into pregnancy and it came back I was having a boy. I thought “not again!” she laughs. ‘But then 10 weeks after that, I went for a scan and they said I was having a girl. So it was like she was just always meant to be.’
As well as raising five children, Danielle also has to navigate co-parenting with Jamie, whom she divorced in 2014 following allegations he had been unfaithful.
It’s not been easy, with Jamie famously accusing her of ‘blocking’ him from seeing the children.
Yet Danielle is determined not to get dragged into the drama, saying: ‘The boys have their own relationship with their dad.
‘Because they’re older now, I don’t even have to organise anything. They can make their own decisions.’
There was a time when Danielle thought she would never find love again, scarred by her divorce and the ‘humiliation’ of being cheated on.
Yet that all changed when she met electrician Michael at the gym in 2015, with the pair getting engaged after just six months of dating.
‘He came into my life at the right time,’ Danielle muses. ‘He’s grounded me and made me a bit more normal!’
Reflecting on her frivolous WAG past, she shares: ‘I was talking to a friend the other day – she’s married to a footballer – and we were like “Oh, my God, like back in the day we were embarrassing! Like “who’s got the best handbag? It’s got this and that”, and you look back now and I cringe!
‘But you live and you learn. It was fun at the time but now I’m just about my kids.’
While her children are now at an age when they can look into their mum’s past, she isn’t worried about them seeing anything
When Danielle took part in Celebrity SAS last year she broke down in tears detailing her painful past, but it made her children proud of her when they watched
So with her children now at an age when they can look into their mum’s past, is she worried about them seeing anything?
An open book, Danielle has spoken candidly about her experiences with domestic violence and mental health and when she took part in Celebrity SAS last year she broke down in tears detailing her painful past.
‘The kids watched SAS and they absolutely loved it,’ Danielle shares. ‘They were really proud of me. I’m a mum who is down to earth and open and talk to my kids about everything.
‘I think it’s important for them – not to know everything about my life – but about the challenges I’ve had because I want my kids to be able to talk to me as well. If they are ever in trouble, I want them to be open.’
Danielle is also keen to talk to her children about her lads’ mags past.
While she was famously stripped of her Miss GB title when she posed nude for Playboy, she refuses to buy into the stigma.
‘I’ve got all my pictures and mag covers framed and in a box,’ she explains. ‘I will show them to my kids when they get older because it’s something to be proud of.
‘It was liberating, and I made a good career out of it. So why not be proud of it?’
So with the controversial return of lads’ mag Loaded on the horizon, is it something she would consider?
‘Well I’ve put on a stone and a half since then’, Danielle laughs. ‘I’m not sure if anyone would want a look anymore! But never say never. I mean, why not?’
There is one thing she wouldn’t return to, OnlyFans.
In 2022, she decided to quit her £90k a month job with the X-rated subscription site after earning enough to ‘pay off her mortgage’.
‘It’s not for me anymore,’ she explains. ‘I’ve got older boys and I think people were saying stuff in school.
‘There’s a stigma around it as well so I just don’t want to be tarred with that brush, especially when I’ve got older kids. But I don’t judge people that are on OnlyFans.’
Reflecting on her frivolous WAG past, she shares, ‘I look back now and I cringe! You live and you learn. It was fun at the time but now I’m just about my kids’
Danielle is also keen to talk to her children about her lads’ mags past, explaining: ‘It’s something to be proud of. ‘It was liberating, and I made a good career out of it’
It’s thinking about her children that led to Danielle stepping back from the spotlight.
‘I just love having a quiet life now,’ she explains. I l know it sounds cliché, but I live, eat and breathe for my kids and my family.
‘It’s nice to stay in the public eye – I loved doing Celeb SAS – but some celebs crave fame, and they want to keep chasing it and that’s not me.
‘I don’t care! I just want to wake up every day and take my kids to school and do the normal stuff. I want to be there for them because I don’t want them to get older and have them think “where was mum?”‘
Danielle famously appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007, when she, Jade Goody, Jackiey Budden, Jo O’Meara and Shilpa Shetty were caught up in a bullying and race row scandal.
Now, more than a decade on and with Celebrity Big Brother having made a return, would she consider making a return to the famous house?
‘I don’t think I’d do another reality show unless there was a challenge element to it or learning a new skill’, she explains. ‘I think it would just drive me mad sitting round not having anything to do and I would miss my kids too much.
‘Something like SAS you are just constantly busy all day so you didn’t have much time to think of anything or even miss anybody.
‘I’d love something like Dancing On Ice. A show where you keep your brain going.’
It’s thinking about her children that led to Danielle stepping back from the spotlight. ‘I just love having a quiet life now,’ she explains. ‘I live, eat and breathe for my kids and my family’
‘It’s nice to stay in the public eye – I loved doing Celeb SAS – but some celebs crave fame, and they want to keep chasing it and that’s not me,’ she explains
Yet Danielle’s focus remains her family and she recently learnt just how important it is not to take their safety for granted.
In October, Danielle was caught up in a terrifying home invasion that saw thieves ransack her house for items including a £100,000 Richard Mille watch and a gold Cartier bracelet worth £20,000.
Police believe she was targeted by the same gang that broke into Manchester City Jack Grealish’s home.
While Danielle and her family were out at the time, the alarm sent alerts to their phones and they watched through an app as the gang tore through their home.
‘It was just horrible watching it,’ she recalls. ‘They were in and out in 90 seconds. They went straight to my bedroom and just ransacked it.
‘I rang my neighbour and him and his son went round to the house and they missed the robbers by less than a minute.
‘Itwas probably a good thing because of what could have happened. They had crowbars and hammers with them to break down the glass and the door.’
Since then, Danielle and her family have moved three times and she’s currently building her dream home from the ground up, with the hopes of moving in next year.
‘I just couldn’t wait to get out of the house,’ she explains. ‘ I think it was more harsh on the kids. Ronnie couldn’t sleep for months on end. He was in our bed and he was just so upset.’
Danielle’s focus remains her family and she recently learnt just how important it is not to take their safety for granted after she was caught up in a terrifying home invasion in October
She revealed since the wedding: ‘It made me realise that having material things just doesn’t even matter. I just want to be happy’
Since the robbery, Danielle has been taking extra precautions to prevent it happening again, being mindful of what she posts on social media and when.
‘We had the best security at the house that you could possibly have, but it still happens. You’ve just got to be really careful,’ she says.
‘I’m trying not to put out as much stuff on social media but after something like that, you never truly feel 100 percent safe.
‘It made me realise that having material things just doesn’t even matter. I just want to be happy.’
