Charlotte Crosby burst into the nation’s living rooms back in 2011 on reality show Geordie Shore, all laughter, lipstick and late nights. Back then she was the life and soul of the party – spontaneous, outrageous and heartbreakingly honest – among the housemates on the MTV series.
Fast forward nearly 15 years and she’s still the same, only now the setting is a family home in Newcastle rather than that party house, and the chaos involves nappies, jet lag and tears shed out of pure exhaustion.
Fame has magnified 35-year-old Charlotte’s life’s storms. Yet through heartbreak, public scrutiny, loss and self-doubt she’s emerged stronger, more grounded and, by her own admission, happier than she’s ever been.
Still one of the UK’s most influential reality stars with more than 15million followers on social media, Charlotte, 35, is busier than ever. Her new documentary series, Geordie Stories: Charlotte, Mam Of Two, picks up after the birth of her second daughter Pixi, and follows Charlotte, her partner Jake Ankers and their toddler Alba as they navigate the trials of parenthood, a house move and renovations, while she jets across the globe for her role on spin-off show Aussie Shore as ‘The Boss’ – the arbitrator in the house. Oh, and she’s also hosting the first sample sale for her fashion brand.
‘I think I bit off more than I could chew,’ she laughs. ‘But we got through it. Pixi was only two months old. If you think about it, having to do all that after two months, it’s a lot. A lot of people have a year off. I’ve never had maternity leave because I’m self-employed. If I don’t do it, then how am I going to get paid? You don’t want to say no to work, because there’s pressure. Someone else might take the job if you say no. In our industry, you either do it or you get left behind.’
It’s a brutally honest assessment from someone who’s spent most of her adult life in front of a camera. Before meeting Jake, Charlotte had weathered more emotional turbulence than most experience in a lifetime. A string of volatile relationships, including with Geordie Shore co-star Gaz Beadle, left her emotionally drained and questioning her self-worth.
In 2016 she suffered a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy – where a fertilised egg impants itself outside the womb – that resulted in the loss of a fallopian tube, a trauma she endured in the glare of the public eye while her ex filmed a reality show abroad. That episode, she later admitted, broke something inside her.
In the years that followed, Charlotte sought control where she could, through her image. She had a nose job, breast enlargement and facial fillers, hoping to feel more confident in a world that judged her looks. But instead of relief came more scrutiny and online trolling.
Charlotte Crosby with her partner, Jake Ankers, and their two daughters, Pixi and Alba
Since 2016, Charlotte has sought to control what she could – particularly through her image
The Geordie Shore star with her ex Gaz Beadle, who she met on the show, at an event in 2011
By her early thirties, with more failed relationships behind her, she had begun to speak openly about self-acceptance, saying she no longer wanted to chase perfection. She was exhausted, distrustful and convinced that love always came with heartbreak. Then she met Jake. ‘He changed everything for me,’ she says. ‘I’d been caught up in a toxic pattern – getting cheated on, feeling paranoid. I thought that’s how love was meant to feel. But when I met Jake I realised it isn’t. He healed all that.’
Yet she says her toughest life chapter to date is right now, and her new series reveals how she’s coping.
‘Having two very small children has meant taking unavoidable time away from the industry,’ she explains. ‘You see everyone else at the events, doing the shoots, and you can’t help thinking, “Why wasn’t I invited?” It’s not jealousy, it’s that fear that the world has moved on without you. In this industry, things move so fast. If you say no, someone else will do it. If you step back for too long, it’s like you disappear.’
Despite having built a brand since Geordie Shore with autobiographies, fitness DVDs, presenting and other reality formats, she’s found a new purpose in motherhood. ‘Being a mum has been the best thing to happen. I’d been playing the same game for 31 years, and suddenly it said “new level unlocked”.
‘Everything became more meaningful. I stopped being a pushover. I knew what I wanted. People might think I’m boring now, but to me I’m having the most fun ever.’
But stepping back, even briefly, meant facing the quiet dread of irrelevance in a business that prizes momentum over motherhood.
‘If I hadn’t had children I’d still be very much in that rat race. But I’ve got a higher purpose now: my children. I want to prove you can be a mother and still work really hard.
‘But because I came from Geordie Shore doors were slammed in my face. We weren’t like the Made In Chelsea lot – we got drunk, ate kebabs and had fights. Nobody wanted us for anything. But 15 years later I’m still here. I’ve had to fight for everything.
‘Having two kids, I’ve learned that women are superheroes,’ she smiles. ‘Even women on maternity for a year, let’s not take away from them. Looking after a tiny human is hard. Being a woman is hard.’
While Charlotte balances the demands of filming with running her fashion label, Pepper Girls Club, Jake is often away with his chauffeur business. It’s a story many couples will recognise with one partner pulled by work, the other stretched thin at home, both trying to hold it all together – especially when they moved house in May.
‘We were butting heads constantly. We had one big argument and I told him, “Take both girls. Have a night with them”. Later that night he texted, “Charlotte, please help me, I don’t know what to do”. Alba was screaming, the baby was crying. That’s when he realised what I’d been dealing with.
‘When he said, “I understand”, it was the best feeling in the world, someone finally validating what I was going through,’ she admits.
In one pivotal episode, Jake flies out to Australia to surprise her during filming but the romantic gesture backfires when exhaustion and miscommunication lead to rows. Eventually the couple reconnect, finding calm after the storm. ‘We’d been at breaking point,’ Charlotte admits. ‘It wasn’t about cheating, just two exhausted people trying to do too much. When he finally showed how much he cared, it reminded us what really matters.’
A recent trip to Paris cemented that. ‘He’s doing a 100-day no-drinking challenge. We just wandered around the city, saw the Eiffel Tower, no pressure, no hangovers, just us. We ordered room service in our robes. It was lovely, so natural. Afterwards I just wanted to sit closer to him on the sofa again. It reinvigorated our spark and there wasn’t a drop of champagne involved.’
If her twenties were about wild spontaneity, her thirties have brought emotional maturity. Her openness about anxiety, grief and loss has made her one of television’s most relatable figures. ‘I get the worst anxiety now,’ she confesses. ‘Becoming a mum makes life feel fragile, because you realise what there is to lose.’
She also credits her mother, Letitia, with being her anchor. ‘We argue like cat and dog, but we love each other so much.’ Their bond deepened when Letitia was diagnosed with breast cancer while Charlotte was pregnant with Alba. But it strengthened their determination to build something lasting together.
‘When Mum was made redundant I started the Pepper Girls Club so she didn’t have to worry. Then she got cancer, but she still came into work every day. That job kept her sane because she’d forget about the illness. When we did well on a launch, she’d be high-fiving everyone. She’s cancer-free now. I’m doing this for her.’
Charlotte started the business with no fashion background and just a tape measure on the floor. ‘It took seven years of tax bills, VAT returns, sleepless nights, nearly making myself skint to keep it going. When I met an investor early on, their accountant said, “This business will do well when pigs can fly”. But I stuck with it and now it’s finally flying. It’s not luck. It’s grit.’
What would she tell her younger self? ‘I’d say, “You’re doing good. Keep going”. But if I were talking to my own girls I’d say, “Be your authentic self. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. And please, for the love of God, don’t get too drunk – you’ll lose control of who you are”.’
Returning as ‘the Boss’ on Aussie Shore has brought her story full circle. ‘That stage of my life is done. I don’t want the drama. Watching the new cast go through what I did was incredible. I could relive it all but this time without the chaos, getting drunk and arguing over boys – I just couldn’t do it. I’ve grown out of all that. I’d rather be at home with my girls, making dinner and watching a film. That’s my kind of night now.
‘I’ve been through a lot – heartbreak, criticism, exhaustion – but I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s all brought me here. And I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.’
Geordie Stories: Charlotte, Mam Of Two, from Wednesday, Paramount+.
