LOVE Island fans were gobsmacked when Lothario Joey Essex was revealed as the show's first-ever celebrity bombshell.
The former TOWIE star, 33, gushed about being unable to find the love of his life last night because suitors wanted “what they see on TV” and not the real him.
That certainly hasn’t stopped Joey from trying – as he has a series of doomed relationships behind him, including many from reality shows.
Joey hopes Love Island will allow him to connect with someone “on a far deeper level” due to contestants being “disconnected from the rest of the world”.
He said: "I’m praying that I’m going to walk out of the villa hand in hand with the love of my life, that’s my main aim and all I care about.
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"It’s difficult for me to meet girls on the outside as they judge me based on a persona so I think this experience will allow for people to see the real me."
Before his appearance on the ITV series, Joey was often to blame for his relationships ending, with some exes accusing him of cheating and him openly admitting to pushing women away.
In 2021, he spoke about being unable to find the right relationship and felt the loss of his mother Tina to suicide, when he was 10 years old, played a part in that.
In the BBC documentary Joey Essex: Grief And Me, he said: “My mum loved me, but she left me. I just think to myself, ‘If she loved me that much, why would she leave me?’
“I’ve had loads of relationships but I always end up pushing them away.
"Imagine if I was with someone and I had kids with them and I really did love that person and then she left me.
“I wouldn’t know what to do. I’m already thinking we’re gonna break up before we’re together. I’m pushing it away."
'Cheating fears'
Among Joey’s most prominent relationships was his on-off romance with Sam Faiers, which spanned 2010 until 2013 and played out on screens for fans of The Only Way Is Essex.
She eventually called time on their relationship “for the sake of her sanity”, claiming he had never been able to grow up.
I want my girlfriend to try dirty talk but she won't do it
I’m praying that I’m going to walk out of the villa hand in hand with the love of my life, that’s my main aim and all I care about
Joey Essex
“I hoped it would end in marriage and children, but in the end, I didn’t know who he was anymore,” she told The Sun.
Sam, who got engaged to Joey in 2012, said “there was always a powerful chemistry” between them “but our rows were always the end of the world”.
She added: “He could never keep anything private — not only with TOWIE viewers but with his whole family. He played games and messed with my head.
“He was obsessed with the idea of me cheating even though I never gave him a single moment of worry."
It’s difficult for me to meet girls on the outside as they judge me based on a persona so I think this experience will allow for people to see the real me
Joey Essex
One of the couple's most notable break-ups followed him leaving a nightclub holding the hand of another woman in 2012.
During a furious row after the event, Sam told him: "You've got guilt written all over your face. You went home with a girl, end of."
Showmance claim
A year on from the end of his romance with Sam, Joey fell for ex-Miss Universe contestant Amy Willerton shortly after they were evicted from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
However, sources at the time were sceptical, dubbing their relationship a “showmance” to “cash in” on Joey’s new-found popularity after the show aired.
My mum loved me, but she left me. I just think to myself, ‘If she loved me that much, why would she leave me?
Joey Essex
One insider told The Sun: "If they had such a strong connection, why didn’t something happen in the jungle? When you really connect with someone, you can’t fight it."
They pointed to mismatching quotes from the couple – who stuck it out for just over a month before calling it a day – as proof that they weren’t really an item.
The source told us: “Amy said in an interview last week that she sees him as a ‘little brother’ but then he said they had ‘sexual chemistry’. Can you have sexual chemistry with a big sister? I don’t understand that one!"
'Intense' fling
In 2016 Joey thought he found love again – this time with Stephanie Pratt, star of Made In Chelsea and The Hills, after pairing up on Celebs Go Dating.
However, it lasted just three months, with sources claiming he “wasn’t up for spending every minute” with her in the posh London suburb.
I’ve had loads of relationships but I always end up pushing them away
Joey Essex
They added: "He genuinely fell for her and even though they were an unlikely couple, he hoped it could turn into something more serious but he realised it was never going to work.”
Later, Joey called Stephanie a “nice girl” but admitted he “was really into her” but decided to walk away after “it all became a bit intense”.
'Lap dance fury'
Playboy model ex Lorena Medina dumped Joey after a wild night out with Rita Ora that ended at her mansion back in 2020.
The ex-TOWIE star and the Hot Right Now singer denied anything happened between them but were photographed taking separate cars between venues and at her home in the early hours.
Lorena told The Sun on Sunday: “He was the love of my life. I was ready to have children with Joey. We talked about marriage almost every day.”
The Mexican model moved to England to be with him after they met on MTV’s Ex On The Beach in 2019, which she described as “the craziest thing I have ever done”.
However, rows soon plagued the romance, with her explaining the first followed by her giving him “a little five-second lap dance” while she was drunk.
Lorenda said: “He got very upset. He said, ‘Why would you do that? The woman I marry would not do that.’”
She claimed “he got mad” after telling him her exes would have found the saucy performance “hot” and believes he was planning to propose that very evening.
Lorena recalled: “He told me, ‘You’ve ruined it. It was going to be so special. This was going to bring us together forever.’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘You’ve ruined it’.”
'Angry' outburst
Next was a five-month whirlwind romance with Brenda Santos, who Joey dated through COVID-19 and claimed they had sex every day.
She told The Sun “he quite liked” that she didn’t know who he was after they were introduced by friends.
Brenda said: “We would have sex every day. Sometimes we would do it many times a day, depending on the mood.
“He was giving and generous in bed. Joey said he loved my body, especially my ‘bum-bum’ as you say in Brazil.”
Brenda described their romance, which lasted from May until September 2020, as “intense and memorable” due to him being “a very passionate person”.
He wooed her on a three-day luxury trip to Ibiza after she refused to stay overnight at his mansion in Chigwell, Essex, on the first night that they met.
He was giving and generous in bed. Joey said he loved my body, especially my ‘bum-bum’ as you say in Brazil
Brenda Santos
She recalled: “Joey was pleading with me to stay but I just said I needed to go home. I don’t think he’s used to girls saying no to him.”
Their relationship crumbled due to “cultural differences” with her describing English boys as “quite restrained” and saying they “get angry”, which she found “confusing”.
She explained: “So many times I had that with Joey. He would be angry and very closed but he wouldn’t tell me why he would be angry with me.”
I’m A Celeb Fling
During Joey’s time in the Australian version of I'm A Celeb in 2022, rumours spread about the Essex boy and Miss Universe winner Maria Thattil.
It followed them cosying up under the covers after she asked Joey if he wanted a “cuddle” and their microphones picked up kissing noises.
I mean all I remember is her tongue being down my throat to be honest!
Joey Essex
But after the show, things didn’t progress further. Maria told Now To Love that they were “attracted to each other from the get-go” and she was “glad he was there to make those memories with”.
Later that year, Joey was seen snogging ex-Love Islander Maura Higgins.
However, when quizzed about it in a chat, he admitted: “I don't know! I can't even remember. I mean all I remember is her tongue being down my throat to be honest!”
'Ex texts'
During his 2023 Dancing On Ice appearance, romance flourished between Joey and his skating partner Vanessa Bauer.
The pair initially played down rumours before the star accidentally let slip “Danny and Sandy are getting on pretty well if you know what I mean” after a Grease-themed performance.
When pressed by then-host Phillip Schofield about whether they were dating, Joey said: “I’m not confirming anything,” while holding his hands up. Vanessa was noted to have looked 'mortified'.
Ahead of losing out in the final, the reality star admitted they had “always gotten on well… since day one” and it “would be quite nice to see what’s going on in the outside” world.
“We're just mainly in the ice rink, to be honest,” Joey added. “We’re taking it day by day.”
They confirmed they were dating in March but soon split up. Interestingly, Joey’s ex claimed he had exchanged “romantic” texts with her.
“Joey told me he always thinks about me, he said that he hasn't been able to find that connection with anyone since me,” she recalled.
“I said, ‘Me too, I haven't found it yet either’, and Joey said, ‘Well if you come to London I'll come to see you’.”
She said “The constant love is still there” but felt it would not work out due to her working on her singing career in the US while he lived in England.
