X Factor’s most controversial star unrecognisable 13 years after being axed for rule break

Frankie Cocozza looks quite different compared to when he became the bad boy of X Factor in 2011.

Back then, the singer instantly made a memorable impression at his first audition when he proudly shared his bare bum, which had the names of his previous sexual partners tattooed onto it. But now, he’s living a more subdued life away from the spotlight in Australia as a dad-of-one.

During his time on the ITV talent show, Brighton lad Frankie favoured long curly hair, which he wore big to match his indie sound. Like many young men at the time, Frankie would rock skinny jeans and tight-fitted t-shirts.

Frankie, now 31, looks worlds away from his rocky image and favours a more laidback look. In a recent Instagram upload, he chose Burberry shorts and Gucci sunglasses to relax on a sunbed. With much shorter hair and sunkissed skin, many people likened him to Robbie Williams.

‘Bloody hell I thought you were Robbie Williams!! x’ wrote Donnasaks. Linzagall87 added: ‘Thought this was an old pic of @robbiewilliams.’

Danleostanley echoed the sentiments with: ‘I’m sorry this isn’t @robbiewilliams.’

His cheeky charm and waspy voice originally landed him a position in the live shows with Gary Barlow (the man with a very tall son) as his mentor.

However, his time on the series, which also starred Little Mix and Marcus Collins, was cut short at week eight. When Frankie, then 18, admitted to breaking competition rules, he was abruptly cut from the lineup.

‘My life during the show has gone out of control and my behaviour off stage has overstepped the rules of the competition,’ he said at the time.

‘I no longer deserve my place in the show, so I am therefore leaving. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me.’

Years later, he addressed the allegations that he was taken off the series for boasting about drug use in front of production staff. ‘With the whole cocaine thing, there was no proof – I don’t know why they decided to release that when they said they wouldn’t in the last meeting [we had],’ he claimed on This Morning.

“All it was was me admitting it, so I said, “Will everyone find out?” and they said, “No”. And then on the way home, it was all over the papers. [But] I held my hands up, I’ve got to leave.’

While the reasoning surrounding his departure isn’t totally clear, Frankie has been honest about his drug addiction. On the podcast, Fair Points hosted by James Smith, he admitted: ‘I’m a drug addict. Simple as that. I just am. I love cocaine. I’m sorry, I do.’ Frankie then said that ‘if the money hadn’t run out’ he’d still be using, before adding that becoming a father has also led to him making a ‘conscious effort’ to stop.

Frankie has a son, Frankie Jr, who he shares with former partner Bianca Murphy. The couple married in a Brighton ceremony in May 2018, before moving to Sydney together with their young child.

By 2022 the pair had split, and Frankie has since moved on with Emma Stubbs, who was previously a senior lingerie designer at Honey Birdette.

After The X Factor, Frankie enjoyed some time in the spotlight. He was runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother in 2012 and appeared on Celebs Go Dating, where he had an ill-fated romance with Charlotte Dawson.

In 2017, the star revealed he was working on a building site for £7.50 an hour after he confessed to blowing his £200,000 X Factor fortune on drink.

Speaking to The Mirror, Frankie said: ‘I have no regrets. I performed on live TV in front of 14 million and that’s such a great thing to tell people.’

On getting a new job for some routine, Frankie revealed: ‘I think I was just bored. I sat in my room for the last three or four years playing guitar every day.’ 

While his image may be different, Frankie still enjoys making music and is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band The Telescreen.