Inside X Factor bad boy Frankie Cocozza’s new life after blowing £200k, quitting fame and moving to Australia
X FACTOR bad boy Frankie Cocozza made a big impression when he first appeared on the singing show a decade ago.
The then-teenager told the cameras about his rock and roll lifestyle, including showcasing the names of seven girls tattooed on his bum.
Frankie, now 28, shocked audiences at home as he admitted that the tattoo was just a few of more than 300 woman that he had bedded in his teens.
And while the singer impressed the judges with his talent and made it through to the live shows, he was kicked off for bragging about his drug-infused lifestyle.
Production staff were forced to fire Frankie after he was overheard discussing taking cocaine behind-the-scenes of the hit TV show.
He admitted at the time to “taking cocaine and using drugs” for “a couple of years” before the X Factor, telling The Mirror he was “really sorry”.
“It’s not just the last few months on X Factor I’ve been taking cocaine or using drugs,” he famously said. “I’ve been doing stuff for a couple of years now.”
But a lot has changed since then for the singing sensation, who has since blown his £200k fortune, quit fame and moved to Australia.
Now the star is a doting husband and father-of-one – and spends his spare time on the beach as well as with his new band.
If you want to know more about where Frankie has found himself a decade after his rise to fame – we’ve got the lowdown.
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After leaving the X Factor in 2011 due to his drug habit, Frankie was scouted for Celebrity Big Brother, and finished in second place in the ninth series.
He went on to release music of his own, and his debut single Catastrophic Casanova reached an impressive number 19 in the iTunes charts.
His success saw him amass a £200,000 fortune, but it didn’t last long – as Frankie admitted to blowing all his hard-earned cash on fun and partying.
The singer was forced to return to work, and at one point was earning just £7.50 an hour acting as extra hands on a building site.
He told The Mirror: “I have no regrets. I didn’t have to have a real job for a long time after the show, and me and my mates had the best time.
“I went back to work because I needed more dough, but I think I was just bored. I sat in my room for the last three or four years playing guitar every day.”
TURNED HIS LIFE AROUND
Frankie is now 28 years old, and has cleaned up his act considerably since his time on X Factor and his tumultuous teenage years.
After years of living in Brighton, the star upped and moved to Sydney where he formed a band – Monday Moon – and began performing with them.
He also met Bianca, who is originally from Australia, and the pair quickly became a couple, debuting their relationship in a snap in October 2017.
It came just weeks after Frankie took part in Celebs Go Dating, where he struck up a short romance with media personality Charlotte Dawson.
He and Bianc were seen in Canggu Beach in Bali – before later posing for a snap on their wedding day in May 2018 in the UK.
The couple have since extended their family, and are now parents to a one-year-old son, who was born in 2019 is also called Frankie.
Frankie announced the exciting news on Instagram, telling his fans: “You’re in for one hell of a ride son. You’ll be absolutely fine because you’re half your mother.”
Since becoming a father, the singer has stepped back even further from the limelight, apart from working with fans through video site Cameo.
He charges £33 for personal messages from fans, with his website bio reading: “Let’s have some fun and stick a smile on someone’s face!”