How Trisha Goddard overcame drugs, a cheating ex husband and racism to take part in CBB – despite breast c... ngocc

DESPITE her on going battle with breast cancer, Trisha Goddard is thriving as she takes part in the new series of Celebrity Big Brother.

But the chat show queen's health battle isn't the only pain she has experienced in her life as she has endured painful marriages, racism and drug abuse.

CHEATING HUSBAND

Trisha suffered tremendous heartbreak when she found out her second husband Mark Grieve was cheating on her.

She tied the knot with TV producer Mark in 1993 and the couple had two children - daughters Billie, now 32 and Madison, 28.

However Trisha called time on their marriage after it emerged that her husband had been having an affair with a co-worker called 'Joanne'.

In a candid interview, the talk show host revealed how she confronted him over his infidelity.

"At first he protested that nothing was going on but finally the truth fell from his mouth. 'I've fallen in love with her,' he admitted sheepishly," she told the Daily Mail in 2008

"Then it all came out. He'd been with her during my pregnancy and he was still with her. He offered hardly any apology."

Continuing, Trisha said: "When I got up to go home, expecting him to come with me so we could at least try to save our marriage, he looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and said, 'Well, I might as well go and spend the night with Joanne then.'

"'What about me?' I said, beginning to cry. 'Not my problem,' he said, and turned away. 'Goodbye, Trisha.'

That same year, Mark reacted to Trisha talking about their marriage problems and accusations of him cheating, and told The Age: "I've never denied I had an affair but that was a reaction to the fact she never loved me and wasn't interested in sex.

"If the relationship was so bad why is she still so bitter about the break-up?"

The bitter break-up saw the couple divorce in 1996, after just three years of marriage.

PAINFUL DIVORCES

Although she is happily married now, Trisha has had three painful divorces.

The star faced a hard time with her first husband Robert Nestdale, who she met on a flight from Bahrain to Sydney in 1985.

He was the leader of Australia’s Young Liberals, the youth movement of the country’s Liberal Party.

After a whirlwind romance they married in 1986.

But Trisha knew all wasn't right early on, as they'd already started sleeping in separate beds.

Speaking in her memoir, she said their sex life was “diabolical”, and added: “Robert either couldn’t do it or would lose interest. Within three months we were in separate beds.”

The marriage lasted less than a year and she eventually left him.

Following their divorce it came to light that he was gay.

In 1989, Robert passed away following what Trisha had believed was a lymphoma.

She later discovered he had been secretly gay and had Aids before he died.

Trisha's third marriage, after both Robert and Mark, was to psychotherapist Peter Gianfrancesco.

They were wed for almost 20 years, before splitting in 2017.

Speaking to Hello! Magazine, Trisha admitted their marriage started to struggle after she recovered from breast cancer.

"Our relationship was a rollercoaster," she told the outlet.

"One day things were fine between us - great even.

"The next they were terrible - the arguments, the detachment, there were real lows."

FACING RACISM

Trisha grew up in London, but as child she lived in East Africa for almost three years with her parents and siblings.

She credits this time with helping her realise that "everyone was the same, despite being different nationalities and skin colour".

But despite these happy times, Trisha has admitted she suffered racist abuse while growing up, and used to go to drastic lengths to try and change the way she looked.

She once told ITV's Lorraine: "I remember when I was a little girl, I used to get talcum powder and mix it with water.

"I'd put it on my face and pretend to be white."

DRUG PAST

Trisha began smoking weed with her friends when she was younger.

However the habit grew following the breakdown of her first marriage.

“I was off my head smoking weed, I didn’t know what on earth was going on around me," she's since admitted.

"Days were spent in a drug-induced haze and I went to work in the newsroom having been stoned off my face the night before."

Her sister Linda's tragic death in 1994, prompted her to stop.

However, she later admitted she began battling depression shortly after, and told the Sunday Mirror: “My depression was so bad that the only thing tethering me to the planet was making the next breast feed for my girls."

BREAST CANCER BATTLE

Trish has been battling breast cancer since 2008.

Sadly she was told in 2023 her cancer was at stage 4 and, while it is treatable, it isn't curable.

Trisha didn't reveal the news until the following year, and chose to come to terms with it privately first.

Announcing her terminal diagnosis, she told her fans: "It's not going to go away."

Trisha continued: "And with that knowledge comes grief, and fear.

"But I must keep enjoying what I have always enjoyed.".

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (GMB) about why she kept the news of the cancer to herself, Trisha said: “I was grappling with how to deal with it myself. Plus I just wanted to work and be me."

Trisha had Celebrity Big Brother viewers in tears this week when she opened up about her ongoing cancer journey.

Viewers were blown away with her positive attitude when she confessed she’s doing the show to inspire others also living with the disease. 

She said: “It's my new normal.

"I'm going into the Big Brother house to show you can't be so scared of dying that you become frightened of living." 

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Trisha is now happily married to her fourth husband Allen, who's surname she keeps a secret.

The pair met shortly after her divorce from Peter, and said at the time: "For the first time in a very long time, I feel womanly, beautiful and sexy."

The pair dated for four years before Allen popped the question during a hike over the New Year in 2022, and they wed that year.

Trisha said at the time: "I'm so happy!

"I said I’d never say [I ]do though again… but...

"First time ANYONE has bought ME an engagement ring! In the past I’ve had to buy my own…

"For the first time in my life, I’ve met someone who looks after me instead of visa versa. I am just so HAPPY!!"