How Hollywood star Loni Willison fell into the gutter (literally)
A life of excess takes its toll. Adding mental health problems into the mix, the result can be tragic. Just ask Loni Willison, the American supermodel who rose to fame and married actor Jeremy Jackson. But today, she lives on the streets and is destitute.
By the end of the second decade of the 2000s, Willison was a sought-after swimsuit model for big fashion brands, appearing on the covers of well-known magazines. Glam Fit, Flavor Magazine, and Iron Man Magazine were just a few of her customers and she also mingled with Hollywood celebrities.
It was around that time that she met Jeremy Jackson, whom most will remember for his role as Bobby Buchannon, the son of Mitch (David Hasselhoff). He worked on the series 'Baywatch' and was a TV star in the 90s.
The couple tied the knot in 2012 at a resort in Laguna Beach, California. However, what seemed like an idyllic love story ended early and in the worst possible way.
After two years of marriage, Loni Willison and Jeremy Jackson broke off their relationship, which then gave way to a very difficult divorce process, especially on her part.
According to The Sun, the former U.S. model suffers from mental health problems, something that could have been the trigger of the breakup.
Willison accused Jackson of having wanted to strangle her. The model claimed she suffered several injuries after a drunken fight.
The former model then suffered a serious crisis that led her to start consuming illegal substances and take refuge in drinking.
As soon as she got divorced, she returned to the front pages of numerous media, but this time because of her behavior. She lost her job as an assistant to a plastic surgeon which even led her to be evicted from her home in West Hollywood, according to The Sun.
Willison entered a dangerous spiral of personal destruction. Her good friend Kristin Rossetti, also a model, tried unsuccessfully to admit her to a detoxification clinic. She refused and everything got worse, she lost her house and the job offers stopped coming...
In 2016 there were already reports that she was living on the streets. It was in September 2023 when a Daily Mail journalist, Cassie Carpenter, published images of Willison in Venice Beach (Los Angeles) She was in an almost unrecognizable state, very thin, with short hair, disfigured face, and without some teeth.
"No one cares about me and I don't want to see them, and they don't want to see me. I don't have a cell phone. I have food and I have a place to sleep. I have money here and there and there is food in the containers near the stores. There is a lot around here," she told the journalist.
Willison also told the reporter, "I can live on my own. I have everything I need here." However, the image of her dragging a cart and rummaging through garbage is surprising compared to those of a glorious past when she lived in luxury.
Other important media have also reported her current situation, such as the New York Post, which talked about and showed images of the former model as she searched through dumpsters "in the midst of her battle with addiction," the media outlet stressed.
Meanwhile, Page Six showed new images of Willison in her worst state with a dyed T-shirt, jeans, flip-flops, and a green vest. Her shaved hair was peeking out of her backward baseball cap and she had a bunch of bracelets around each wrist with layered necklaces and a backpack.
That marriage to Jeremy Jackson ended quickly for Willison caused by her mental health problems. 10 years on and her life has changed completely: from the luxuries of fame to the harshest reality of living on the street with nothing.
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