Joe Swashs bankruptcy and tragic illness before his blissful life with Stacey

Despite his cheeky chappy persona, Joe Swash, 39, had a difficult life before settling down with former X Factor star Stacey Solomon.

The actor rose to fame after bagging the role of Mickey Miller on long-running Soap EastEnders.

Although Joe only signed on as a temporary character, he quickly became a fan favourite and stayed on the show for five years.

However, during his time on the Soap, Joe became known as a party animal.

Nicknamed 'Swashbuckler' for his love of partying, Joe started to take his love of going out on the town too far, and EastEnders bosses had to intervene.

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The Dancing On Ice winner was told to calm down or he may risk his career.

Joe suffered awful hardship in 2005 when he was diagnosed with Meningoencephalitis, a combination of meningitis and encephalitis.

The condition left Joe unable to talk, walk or move properly.

He was put in intensive care and his family were told to be prepared for the worst.

Luckily Joe pulled through and he managed to regain his health after 12 weeks in hospital.

However, this led to him having to take a three-month break from EastEnders in order to recover.

The actor struggled having not been paid for the time away and was shocked to discover his character was written out of the show three years later.

Joe felt his illness had led to him losing the job. He told The Sun, "My illness had a massive impact on the job. When I came back I couldn’t find my feet."

Unfortunately, Joe's bad luck didn't stop there. One year after leaving EastEnders he declared bankruptcy after falling behind on a £20,000 tax bill and buried his head in the sand.

Only four years later, Joe claimed Bankruptcy a second time, despite having a regular gig on TV as the co-host of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here Now!

The Celebrity Masterchef contestant admitted to feeling embarrassed at going bankrupt whilst on TV.

However, since his troubled past, Joe has turned his life around.

After meeting Stacey Solomon on I'm A Celebrity, the couple hit it off straight away.

The pair live in an idyllic cottage with their two-year-old son Rex.

The couple lives with Stacey's two other sons Leighton and Zach. Joe has another son from his previous relationship, Harry.

Joe and Stacey are expecting a daughter later this year.

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