In the present day, people often find entertainment in interacting with attractive Instagram models through direct messages. However, during the more innocent early 2000s, one had to physically purchase a magazine for a quick glance at glamourous models.
FHM, Loaded, Nuts and Zoo were popular choices, featuring a plethora of busty beauties that graced the bedroom walls of young men nationwide. Yet, by the end of the decade, due to the rise of the internet and shifting attitudes towards glamour models, the lads' mag industry was struggling, leaving its pin-ups seeking new opportunities.
The outcomes varied greatly, with some facing homelessness and illness, heartbreak, and even unexpected Hollywood careers. Here's a look at what happened next for these lads' mag stars....
Diminutive Gail initially found fame hosting Fully Booked and Top of the Pops, but soon expanded her career to become a favourite among lads' mag readers, openly discussing orgasms and having her nude posterior projected onto the Houses of Parliament to promote FHM magazine's 100 sexiest women poll in 1999, reports the Mirror.
She married Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave in 2001 and gave birth to their daughter Honey the following year.
Despite appearances, she privately battled post-natal depression and, after her marriage ended in 2005, she developed alopecia and lost all her hair.
In 2011, she was sectioned for 28 days under the Mental Health Act after sending a text message to her then-boyfriend, guitarist Jonny Davies, expressing suicidal thoughts.
"It was absolutely terrifying, I didn't know what was going on," she later recounted.
"We didn't have any therapy, we just sat there. People were crying and acting quite strangely, obviously. I was drugged up to my eyeballs and found it all very distressing."
However, things took a dire turn in 2017 when Gail, now 48, faced insolvency. She was left bankrupt and without a roof over her head, finding refuge on a park bench in Hampstead Heath.
"Those were the scariest nights of my life. There were lots of terrifying noises. I had no idea what they were. I was freezing and I didn't know who was coming for me," she revealed to The Sun.
Gail pinpointed her hair loss as the catalyst for her economic downfall.
"Losing my hair was a big thing. I was OK with it and people around me would say it was fine but people stopped booking me for TV work," she explained.
"The jobs that were coming so freely during the nineties weren't there for me any more. By then I was renting a place and my savings started to dribble away."
In contrast, Keeley Hazell's rise to fame began in Lewisham, London, where she grew up in a working-class family. Her life changed dramatically at 17 when she won the Daily Star's Search for a Beach Babe contest.
She gained notoriety with remarks such as: "If I'm swimming in a pool and my bikini pops off, I'm not bothered – I'll just carry on," leading to quick signing by magazines like Loaded, Nuts, Zoo, and FHM, which playfully described her as a Kentish melon farmer.
Keely, reflecting on her successful past in the glamour industry stated: "I was travelling all the time, and financially my situation changed a lot. I was earning a lot of money. At the time you don't realise and I look back and think 'that was crazy.'" At 33, Keely reminisces on her time as the most sought-after glamour model who eventually left the scene in 2009 due to plummeting pay rates, which went from £30,000 a shoot to merely £1,000, correlating with the dwindling magazine circulation. Not one to be deterred by industry shifts, she channelled her earnings into acting lessons in L.A., gracing the silver screen in the likes of Like Crazy and Horrible Bosses 2.
Meanwhile, brainy Leilani, known for her stint studying economics at the University of London and for being Miss Great Britain, carved out her niche in the magazines before relocating to Los Angeles. In the mid-2000s, she tied the knot with Raquel Welch's ex, Richie Palmer, aged 66 at the time.
Despite an age difference of 26 years, their marriage ended in divorce over disagreements on starting a family. Responding to scepticism over her intentions, Leilani defended herself on VH1's Tough Love Miami, explaining: "I was the one who wanted to get divorced from my ex. He just assumed I would want something from it and offered me a huge settlement. Because it was my choice, I didn't ask for anything."
She added, "Because he is a lot older, people assume that yes, I was a gold digger. My ex husband was amazing and such a gentlemen.
"But he didn't want kids and I did. That is why we didn't work out. We are still friends and if he ever thought I was just out for money, he would probably never speak to me again."
Leilani, 40, is now gearing up for a sensational return to the UK with her rock star beau Billy Duffy, having snagged a role on the hit series Real Housewives of Cheshire.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Leilani revealed that the scorching LA climate played a part in her decision: "This is gonna sound really stupid because I actually moved to LA for the weather, but the weather is getting so ridiculously hot there now," she admitted.
Abi Titmuss became a household name when she stood by her then-partner John Leslie during his high-profile 2003 sexual assault case, which ultimately collapsed.
Following their breakup, Abi left her nursing position at London's University College Hospital to pursue glamour modelling.
However, much like Leilani, Abi left the modelling scene in the mid-2000s and honed her acting skills at the Central School of Speech and Drama, leading to a role on BBC's Casualty in 2012.
She later moved to the US and joined the cast of Days of Our Lives as Nurse Jackie, where she met her future husband Ari Welkom, aged 43.
In a candid revelation in January 2015 on Loose Women, Abi announced she had changed her name to Abigail Evelyn, distancing herself from her past in glamour modelling.
Abi and Ari tied the knot in May 2017 while she was 21 weeks pregnant with their first child.
"I met Ari when I was 38 and got pregnant naturally at 40," Abi shared with the Loose Women panel.
"So I want to give some hope to people who are feeling that pressure. It took six months to get pregnant and I ended up pregnant on our wedding day which is what we wanted. I felt the baby moving as I walked down the aisle. But I wasn't showing too much!".
Kelly Brook, famed for her stunning curves, was once crowned FHM's Sexiest Woman in the World.
The voluptuous beauty first burst onto the scene in 1997, quickly becoming a favourite of Daily Star's Page 3 and featuring in FHM's Sexiest countdown every year until its closure in 2015.
However, Kelly's stint presenting the Big Breakfast in 1999 was short-lived, with claims she struggled with pronouncing complex words leading to her departure after just a few months.
But the resilient star bounced back, hosting Celebrity Love Island and even getting engaged to Hollywood actor Billy Zane.
Tragedy struck when she had to delay their wedding due to the heartbreaking death of her father in 2007, and the couple eventually split the following year.
Further heartbreak followed in 2011 when Kelly tragically lost her baby girl at five months pregnant while with England rugby player Thom Evans, and suffered another miscarriage later that year.
Their relationship ended when Thom relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a modelling career, making it clear he didn't want any further commitment.
"When I brought up the subject of marriage and children, the colour drained from his face," Kelly revealed in her autobiography.
She revealed: "He wanted to focus on his 'new life' in LA - a wife and children would slow him down. He didn't want to be in a relationship anymore. It was obvious."
The star has since moved on and currently resides in Kent with her partner Jeremy Parisi, and can be heard on the radio presenting Heart London's drivetime show.
