{"id":180821,"date":"2025-11-14T19:22:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T19:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/180821\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T19:22:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T19:22:10","slug":"wed-been-at-breaking-point-geordie-shores-charlotte-crosby-breaks-silence-on-her-relationship-with-jake-ankers-the-strains-they-never-saw-coming-and-the-romantic-gesture-that-backfired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/180821\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We’d been at breaking point.’ Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby breaks silence on her relationship with Jake Ankers, the strains they never saw coming – and the romantic gesture that backfired"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charlotte Crosby<\/a> burst into the nation\u2019s living rooms back in 2011 on reality show Geordie Shore<\/a>, all laughter, lipstick and late nights. Back then she was the life and soul of the party \u2013 spontaneous, outrageous and heartbreakingly honest \u2013 among the housemates on the MTV series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fast forward nearly 15 years and she\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Fame has magnified 35-year-old Charlotte\u2019s life\u2019s storms. Yet through heartbreak, public scrutiny, loss and self-doubt she\u2019s emerged stronger, more grounded and, by her own admission, happier than she\u2019s ever been.<\/p>\n

Still one of the UK\u2019s 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 \u2018The Boss\u2019 – the arbitrator in the house. Oh, and she\u2019s also hosting the first sample sale for her fashion brand.<\/p>\n

\u2018I think I bit off more than I could chew,\u2019 she laughs. \u2018But we got through it. Pixi was only two months old. If you think about it, having to do all that after two months, it\u2019s a lot. A lot of people have a year off. I\u2019ve never had maternity leave because I\u2019m self-employed. If I don\u2019t do it, then how am I going to get paid? You don\u2019t want to say no to work, because there\u2019s pressure. Someone else might take the job if you say no. In our industry, you either do it or you get left behind.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a brutally honest assessment from someone who\u2019s 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<\/a>, left her emotionally drained and questioning her self-worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Charlotte <\/p>\n

Charlotte Crosby with her partner, Jake Ankers, and their two daughters, Pixi and Alba<\/p>\n

\"Since <\/p>\n

Since 2016, Charlotte has sought to control what she could – particularly through her image<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Geordie Shore star with her ex Gaz Beadle, who she met on the show, at an event in 2011<\/p>\n

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. \u2018He changed everything for me,\u2019 she says. \u2018I\u2019d been caught up in a toxic pattern \u2013 getting cheated on, feeling paranoid. I thought that\u2019s how love was meant to feel. But when I met Jake I realised it isn\u2019t. He healed all that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Yet she says her toughest life chapter to date is right now, and her new series reveals how she\u2019s coping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Having two very small children has meant taking unavoidable time away from the industry,\u2019 she explains. \u2018You see everyone else at the events, doing the shoots, and you can\u2019t help thinking, \u201cWhy wasn\u2019t I invited?\u201d It\u2019s not jealousy, it\u2019s 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\u2019s like you disappear.\u2019<\/p>\n

Despite having built a brand since Geordie Shore with autobiographies, fitness DVDs, presenting and other reality formats, she\u2019s found a new purpose in motherhood. \u2018Being a mum has been the best thing to happen. I\u2019d been playing the same game for 31 years, and suddenly it said \u201cnew level unlocked\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018Everything became more meaningful. I stopped being a pushover. I knew what I wanted. People might think I\u2019m boring now, but to me I\u2019m having the most fun ever.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

But stepping back, even briefly, meant facing the quiet dread of irrelevance in a business that prizes momentum over motherhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018If I hadn\u2019t had children I\u2019d still be very much in that rat race. But I\u2019ve got a higher purpose now: my children. I want to prove you can be a mother and still work really hard.<\/p>\n

\u2018But because I came from Geordie Shore doors were slammed in my face. We weren\u2019t like the Made In Chelsea lot \u2013 we got drunk, ate kebabs and had fights. Nobody wanted us for anything. But 15 years later I\u2019m still here. I\u2019ve had to fight for everything.<\/p>\n

\u2018Having two kids, I\u2019ve learned that women are superheroes,\u2019 she smiles. \u2018Even women on maternity for a year, let\u2019s not take away from them. Looking after a tiny human is hard. Being a woman is hard.\u2019<\/p>\n

While Charlotte balances the demands of filming with running her fashion label, Pepper Girls Club, Jake is often away with his chauffeur business. It\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018We were butting heads constantly. We had one big argument and I told him, \u201cTake both girls. Have a night with them”. Later that night he texted, \u201cCharlotte, please help me, I don\u2019t know what to do”. Alba was screaming, the baby was crying. That\u2019s when he realised what I\u2019d been dealing with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘When he said, \u201cI understand”, it was the best feeling in the world, someone finally validating what I was going through,\u2019 she admits.<\/p>\n

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. \u2018We\u2019d been at breaking point,\u2019 Charlotte admits. \u2018It wasn\u2019t 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.\u2019<\/p>\n

A recent trip to Paris cemented that. \u2018He\u2019s 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\u2019t a drop of champagne involved.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\u2019s most relatable figures. \u2018I get the worst anxiety now,\u2019 she confesses. \u2018Becoming a mum makes life feel fragile, because you realise what there is to lose.\u2019<\/p>\n

She also credits her mother, Letitia, with being her anchor. \u2018We argue like cat and dog, but we love each other so much.\u2019 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018When Mum was made redundant I started the Pepper Girls Club so she didn\u2019t have to worry. Then she got cancer, but she still came into work every day. That job kept her sane because she\u2019d forget about the illness. When we did well on a launch, she\u2019d be high-fiving everyone. She\u2019s cancer-free now. I\u2019m doing this for her.\u2019<\/p>\n

Charlotte started the business with no fashion background and just a tape measure on the floor. \u2018It 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, \u201cThis business will do well when pigs can fly”. But I stuck with it and now it\u2019s finally flying. It\u2019s not luck. It\u2019s grit.’<\/p>\n

What would she tell her younger self? \u2018I\u2019d say, \u201cYou\u2019re doing good. Keep going”. But if I were talking to my own girls I\u2019d say, \u201cBe your authentic self. Don\u2019t try to be someone you\u2019re not. And please, for the love of God, don\u2019t get too drunk – you\u2019ll lose control of who you are”.\u2019<\/p>\n

Returning as \u2018the Boss\u2019 on Aussie Shore has brought her story full circle. \u2018That stage of my life is done. I don\u2019t 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\u2019t do it. I\u2019ve grown out of all that. I\u2019d rather be at home with my girls, making dinner and watching a film. That\u2019s my kind of night now.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve been through a lot \u2013 heartbreak, criticism, exhaustion \u2013 but I wouldn\u2019t change a thing. It\u2019s all brought me here. And I\u2019m the happiest I\u2019ve ever been.\u2019<\/p>\n

Geordie Stories: Charlotte, Mam Of Two, from Wednesday, Paramount+.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Charlotte Crosby burst into the nation\u2019s living rooms back in 2011 on reality show Geordie Shore, all laughter,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[39032,118,18,117,24398,23224,19,17,438],"class_list":{"0":"post-180821","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-charlotte-crosby","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-gaz-beadle","13":"tag-geordie-shore","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-tvshowbiz"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115549683969115402","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}