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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Verity Sulway

Lucie Jones now - Eurovision, married to X Factor co-star and Simon Cowell spat

Lucie Jones didn't exactly bow out gracefully from The X Factor in 2009.

After she was booted out in eighth place, with Joe McElderry winning, Lucie claimed she had been "victimised" by music mogul Simon Cowell.

Despite his reservations about Jedward, he opted to give the public the final vote rather than choosing to save Lucie - and she lost out to the Irish duo.

"I did feel Simon was victimising me and in some ways, he was hypocritical for not saving me as he knew I could sing," Lucie revealed three years later.

"I was so upset I burst into tears in front of the judges. Afterwards, Simon walked out of the studio and tapped me on the nose and said, 'Chin up, love,' but all I could think was, 'I want to punch you!'

Lucie Jones starred on The X Factor in 2009 (ITV)

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"He knew not saving me would make good TV. It’s his job to boost ratings, but he has to remember he is playing with people’s lives, too."

After Lucie’s shock exit, ITV chiefs received 3,000 complaints that the result had been fixed, because of Simon dropping his long-standing opposition to twins John and Edward Grimes.

And Lucie said she had not spoken to Simon since - though she was still hoping he'd ring her up with a record contract offer.

But what did Lucie do next?

Eurovision

She represented Great Britain in Eurovision 2017 (BBC One)

In 2017, Britain's hopes were high when it was announced the 33-year-old would be representing the nation in the Eurovision song contest.

She put in a rousing effort as she belted out the powerful ballad Never Give Up On You at the Grand Final in Kyiv, with host Graham Norton labelling her "one of our strongest entrants in years".

Lucie raked in 111 points, the most we'd seen since Blue reunited for the occasion in 2011.

Coming 15th, Lucie was the toast of the UK, with celebrities and fans saying she should have won instead of Portugal's Amar Pelos Dois.

Lucie joked at the time: "I WONNNNNN!!! Oh no wait..."

After her performance, she wrote on Instagram : "That. Was. Incredible - unbelievable feeling. Celebrate diversity folks, I will NEVER give up on you".

Married to X Factor co-star

Lucie Jones married her fellow X Factor alum Ethan Borian (Ethan Borian/Instagram)

In September 2017, Lucie married her fellow X Factor contestant sweetheart Ethan Boroian, eight years after they first met at the auditions.

The couple wed in a small ceremony in Lucie's native Wales, exchanging vows at St David's Church in Miskin in an emotional service.

The West End singer, who wore an ivory tulle gown by Charlotte Balbier for the occasion, told Hello! magazine : "As soon as I saw Ethan, looking so dashing in his blue wedding suit, I started to well up.

"Then the male voice choir started to sing our song, God Only Knows by The Beach Boys, and an overwhelming feeling of intense emotion came over me.

The happy couple also have two dogs together (Ethan Borian/Instagram)
Lucie welled up with tears when she saw Ethan on their wedding day (Ethan Borian/Instagram)

"Suddenly, every precious memory of our time together came flooding back and I couldn't stop the tears. I felt so elated and knew that marrying him was the best thing I would ever do."

Chicago-born singer Ethan added: "It was incredible seeing her in her wedding dress for the first time. I couldn't take my eyes off her."

The couple first met at boot camp during the filming of The X Factor, and stayed in touch before going out on their first date five years later - and planned their wedding day for exactly three years after that.

"Ethan is everything I could ever have wanted in a man," Lucie gushed. "I count my lucky stars I found him every single day."

The happy couple were surrounded by 150 of their close friends and family at the service and brought them back to Miskin Manor for a lavish reception, where they feasted on goat's cheese starters and chicken and chorizo mains, all washed down with posh Moet champagne.

Lucie had six bridesmaids to help her get ready, including her Les Miserables co-star Samantha Barks, and even serenaded her new groom at the ceremony when the band struck up a salsa version of her Eurovision entry song Never Give Up On You.

Star of stage and screen

Lucie Jones has become a huge West End star (BBC)

By 2010, Lucie was signed by Cameron Mackintosh to play Cosette in the West End production of Les Misérables.

She played the role of Meat in the 2013 arena tour of We Will Rock You, and Victoria in the musical American Psycho in 2013.

In 2016, she played Maureen Johnson in the UK tour of Rent, and two years later she got the coveted role of Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde musical.

More recently, she played Jenna in Sara Bareilles' musical Waitress and is back in the West End production of Les Mis, now playing Fantine.

It's not just the stage she stars on either - Lucie also played Gemma in The Sarah Jane Adventures television show Lost in Time, a Doctor Who spinoff.

Modelling contract

She landed a modelling contract (Instagram)
Lucie said she couldn't believe she'd become a model (Getty)

After Lucie departed The X Factor, she was tipped to be the next Agyness Deyn after landing a top modelling contract with Select Model Management.

And her former mentor Dannii Minogue was very supportive.

"Dannii was delighted when she found out I’d signed to Select and she put a message out on Twitter to say congratulations," Lucie told The Mirror.

"I still can’t believe it – at school, I was tall and lanky and I wore braces on my teeth. I was a real geek and, although I had one or two boyfriends, I wasn’t hugely popular with the opposite sex."

Lucie went on to land some huge modelling jobs, including becoming the face of Wonderbra's Full Effects campaign.

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