- Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com
As a Noughties pin-up, Jodie Marsh knew exactly how to keep herself in the public eye.
From her high profile slanging matches with other glamour models, her various reality TV stints and who could forget those belts, there wasn't a day that would go by when Jodie's face wasn't splashed about in the papers.
Now, however, she's had a complete career overhaul, turning her back on fame to run an animal sanctuary in Great Dunmow, Essex and opening Fripps Farm in 2020.
Indeed, the woman who opens the door to me is hardly the sex siren who dominated the red tops in the past.
Instead, Jodie, 45, is demure and low-key, casually clad in a hoodie and jogging bottoms that conceals the famous chest that once made her every teenage boy's fantasy.
Jodie Marsh has had a career overhaul, turning her back on fame to run an animal sanctuary in Essex and opening Fripps Farm in 2020, and this week she opened the gates to MailOnline
As a Noughties pin-up, Jodie knew exactly how to keep herself in the public eye, from slanging matches with other glamour models to those outrageous outfits (pictured in 2004)
A vegetarian from the age of five, Jodie has always adored wildlife, and while she was stripping off for glamour shoots, she would be daydreaming about working with animals
In fact, the only nod to Jodie's glamorous past is her expertly applied makeup and glossy mane of golden, curly locks - a wig - she assures me, promptly pulling out a handful of extensions.
'I'm not used to wearing makeup anymore either', she explains. 'I just put it on for the photographs today.'
As we speak, I'm being treated to coffee and chocolates inside Jodie's kitchen, designed to replicate an American diner in the Fifties. Her cat Linda is curled up asleep next to me.
The coffee and the snacks are vegan of course. Like myself, Jodie hasn't touched any animal products for five years.
A vegetarian from the age of five, Jodie has always adored wildlife, and while she was earning thousands stripping off for glamour shoots, she would be daydreaming about working with animals.
However, it wasn't until the tragic death of her mother Kristina in September 2020 from cancer that Jodie felt the push she needed to open Fripps Farm.
Jodie explains: 'When my mum got sick, her decline was fairly quick. It was during Covid so me and my dad had to care for her at home because the hospitals had kicked all the cancer patients out.
'It was just horrific. I gave up work and gave up everything to care for my mum. And that was what made me realise that life's too short, watching my mum die in front of me.
'Why would I go and do another TV show or another photoshoot or whatever it is when that's not what I want to be doing in life? That's not what's gonna make me happy.
'What's gonna make me happy is having an animal sanctuary, because it's the only thing I've ever truly wanted. I always knew that was the end goal.'
It wasn't a hard decision for Jodie to step away from the limelight. By her own admission, 'I hated being famous. If I had money no one would ever see me again!'
However, it wasn't until the tragic death of her mother Kristina in September 2020 from cancer that Jodie felt the push she needed to open Fripps Farm
It wasn't a hard decision for Jodie to step away from the limelight.
By her own admission, 'I hated being famous. If I had money no one would ever see me again!'
One thing that also kept her in the public eye was her notorious 20-year slanging match with Katie Price, then rival Page 3 girl, Jordan.
To this day, Jodie insists she was in the right, declaring: 'Katie started it! She said I had saggy tits.
'All I did was retaliate and say "at least mine are real" that was it.
'She called me every name under the sun. She said that I had saggy tits. I had tits like spaniel's ears. I had a nose like a builder's elbow.
'All these comments came out and then stuck for years and years and years. And I was young, I was in my early twenties.
'It's hard when you're being abused every day of your life for your physical appearance, how I got through that is nuts.
'How do people think that's acceptable to be like that? I'd get people calling me "saggy tits" in the street. They'd read it in the paper and think it was ok to say it to my face.'
It appears Jodie still hasn't fully got over her feud with Katie. When I mention that the mother-of-five extended an olive branch and offered do a joint OnlyFans shoot with her, Jodie raises an eyebrow.
'No comment', she replies, before smiling and adding through gritted teeth. 'That's very... sweet. I'll bear it in mind.'
The animals - of which there are hundreds when you factor in the birds and reptiles she cares for - require round the clock care
One thing that also kept her in the public eye was her notorious 20-year slanging match with Katie Price, then rival Page 3 girl, Jordan (pictured in 2004)
It's understandable that Jodie isn't quick to forgive and forget.
In her past, Jodie has been exploited by countless men who took advantage of her sweet and trusting nature.
Reflecting on her murky dating history, she admits: 'I think I'm the most unlucky person in love in the whole world.
'I have encountered narcissists, gaslighters, woman beaters, sex abusers, child sex abusers. You name it, I've had it.
'I am done with men. I haven't got time for a relationship anyway, but I have had a really rough time with men.
'Weirdos are attracted to me but they'll pretend they're normal. They're so desperate to be with me that they'll do anything, they'll put on this big act.
'And then just when you think, "oh, he's amazing, he's so nice", you find out he's a gaslighting nasty psychopath.'
Jodie's most recent relationship came to an end in March, with the model ending things with the builder, three months after claiming he was her 'first adult relationship after dating a string of con men'.
Prior to Mark she dated Elvis impersonator ex Billy Collins, who she split from after she discovered had been cheating on her with multiple women during their three-year romance.
Jodie ended things with her ex Wayne Lennox in January 2019, having brought to an end to her three-year long celibacy pledge, which came after she split from second husband James Placido in 2016.
The couple had only been married for eight months, and Jodie publicly confirmed their split in a lengthy Twitter rant in which she claimed he had been making 'monetary demands'.
Jodie was also briefly married to Matt Peacock in 2007 for just two months after the pair met on the reality show Totally Jodie Marsh: Who'll Take Her Up the Aisle?
In 2008, Jodie also briefly dated female hairdresser Nina and just a year later after their split, she vowed to undergo five years of celibacy.
It was a pledge the star managed to keep when she dated TOWIE's Kirk Norcross in 2012 for just two weeks, as he later alleged she refused to sleep with him in an interview with Reveal magazine.
Jodie was got engaged to DJ David Doyle in 2006 after just 11 days of dating but the couple called it quits just weeks later.
In March, Jodie revealed she had split from her builder boyfriend Mark after claiming he was her 'first adult relationship after dating a string of con men'
Jodie's last romance came after she split from Elvis impersonator ex Billy Collins in May 2022, who she discovered had been cheating on her with multiple women
The Celebrity Big Brother star confirmed she had split from boyfriend Wayne Lennox in January 2019 after he did 'something unforgivable'
Her relationship with Wayne had brought to an end to her three-year long celibacy pledge, which came after she split from second husband James Placido (pictured) in 2016
Jodie was also briefly married to Matt Peacock in 2007 for just two months after the pair met on the reality show Totally Jodie Marsh: Who'll Take Her Up the Aisle?
Now, she's more than happy staying single for the meantime, musing: 'I'm at the point where I think my best bet finding a man is probably through a friend, but honestly I don't have time now anyway.
'I barely have time to eat some crisps or shove an oven pizza in let alone shower and put on makeup!'
Indeed, I'm staggered at Jodie's energy levels as she fills me in on her gruelling schedule.
The animals - of which there are hundreds when you factor in the birds and reptiles she cares for - require round the clock care.
Many of whom - Jodie estimates 80 percent of which - would have been put to sleep if it weren't for Fripps taking them in.
'We're often these animals last chance', she explains.
I've seen firsthand the amount of care and attention Jodie and her team give the animals in her care.
As we walk and talk along the sprawling grounds, I'm shocked by the diversity of animals - from farmyard chickens and goats to emus and meerkats and even a wolf - whenever an animal is in need Fripps Farm find a way to help.
Even more impressive is the fact Jodie knows each animal by name and can get them to come to her when she calls.
Yet it's still a mammoth task for Jodie and her small group of volunteers, so why doesn't she take on more volunteers?
'You can't just trust any random person,' Jodie explains. 'The only people we accept are people that we know, friends of friends.
'I don't want random people walking into my home and being here all day. They could be trolls pretending they want to come and volunteer because they just want to get some gossip or they could be fans.
'I've had so many weirdos in my life, including ex-boyfriends that turned out to be utter weirdos or narcissists or psychos or whatever, and so I'm just really, really wary of people.'
Now, she's more than happy staying single for the meantime, musing: 'I'm at the point where I think my best bet finding a man is probably through a friend, but honestly I don't have time'
As well as the manual work needed to run the sanctuary, Jodie is under pressure with the staggering costs of running Fripps.
She estimates it costs roughly £24,000 a month to keep the sanctuary open, taking into account vet bills, food and daily costs.
'There's costs for little things people don't even think about it', she muses. 'For instance, I've probably bought six or seven hose pipes this year they're not cheap because they have to be extra long to reach the fields. Then what happens if an animal chews one or breaks one?
'It's all the little things that people don't even think about. The say "oh, surely you just have to feed them" but the costs are just outrageous.'
In order to help with the mounting bills, Jodie returned to what she knew best: glamour modelling.
But this time the power was in her hands, as she started an OnlyFans account.
'Before we became a C.I.C (Community Interest Company) I was funding it all myself and I did it by doing OnlyFans', she explains.
'The perimeter fence alone for securing the animals cost £60,000 so I had to pay for that with OnlyFans. My boobs paid for the fences and they also paid the staff's wages!'
Now that Fripps is a C.I.C they can accept public donations to help with the day-to-day costs and Jodie is quick to thank her 'utterly amazing' followers who have donated money or bought food for the animals.
Fripps Farm has gained such a following in fact, that Jodie reveals a TV show is now in the pipeline.
She explains: 'It's been a long time coming because it's got to be right. It's going to be a cross between Clarkson's Farm and Paul O'Grady For The Love Of Dogs.
'We've got the farm animals but we've also got the exotic animals and that's what sets us apart from anything else.
'We're rescuing all these animals and they're having happy endings.
'The are some that don't make it and there's a lot of sadness and tears, but most of them have having happy endings.
'The hardest thing is losing an animal but I can still sleep easy at night knowing I did everything I could and that I have to wake up the next morning and help the other animals.'
It's certainly a change in mindset from Jodie's twenties, which were spent wracked with anxiety and dealing with trolling that had a severe impact on her mental health.
As well as the manual work needed to run the sanctuary, Jodie is under pressure with the staggering costs of running Fripps
So, with Jodie now more at home in wellies and tracksuits than a ballgown could we ever see a return to Jodie's glamour days? 'Well,' she admits 'I do still have the belts!' (pictured in 2003)
Jodie burst onto the showbiz scene at the tender age of 24 with a stint on short-lived reality show Essex Wives.
At the time she was working as a stripper at Stringfellows gentlemen’s club and soon found herself becoming a lads' mag favourite.
'Naively when I was younger, I thought I'm a really nice person, so I thought if you're a nice person and you get famous, people are just gonna like you... and then, of course, the trolling started.
'There were points where I was suicidal from the trolling. I was thinking what would be the quickest way to kill myself.
'I don't understand why people sign up for shows like Love Island or Big Brother these days. Don't do it because you know what you're getting yourself in for.
'Unless you've got the thickest skin in the world the trolling will kill you.
'Even now, when I'm saving animals lives I'm still getting trolled! It's the most bizarre thing in the whole entire world.
'But in a way I'm glad I went through it all before. I don't care now. If I hadn't I might be reading the trolls comments and feeling suicidal now whilst living my dream.
'I'm in heaven every day. Fripps is my paradise and I'm the happiest I've ever been.'
It's clear to see when I look at Jodie that she has finally found happiness with her life at the animal sanctuary.
So, with Jodie now more at home in wellies and tracksuits than a ballgown could we ever see a return to Jodie's glamour days?
'Well,' she admits with a twinkle in her eyes, 'I do still have the belts!'
To donate to Fripps Farm, visit www.frippsfarm.co.uk/support
