Lonnie Willison is best known as a fitness personality and cover model who was married to Baywatch star Jeremy Jackson until 2014. A few years after the split, Willison was discovered to be living on the streets of Venice Beach and has been homeless since 2016. Providing another face suffocating Los Angeles to the homelessness issue and leaving many people out in the cold, Willison's situation shows how easy it is to slip into dire circumstances.
The marriage between Jackson and Willison took place in 2012 and dissolved two years later amid allegations of abuse against the Baywatch star. According to The Sun, Willison alleged that Jackson attacked her in 2014, accusing her of strangulation. Due to the fight, he broke two ribs, left neck injuries and scratches on his face.
EXCLUSIVE: Baywatch star Jeremy Jackson's former swimsuit model ex-wife Loni Willison, 38, is spotted barefoot and homeless while rummaging through trash on the streets of Venice https://t.co/kNxhDS6MVX pic.twitter.com/tuAbJJq0F2
— Tande (@tanndde) March 3, 2022
According to The Sun, following her split and her alleged psychotic break, Willison struggled with mental health issues and drug abuse, battling alcohol and meth addiction. While her discovery was a setback compared to her pre-2016 life, she spoke with The Sun in 2018 after friends tried unsuccessfully to get her into rehab.
"I haven't spoken to Jeremy. I don't want to talk to my friends, I'm doing fine. I don't want anyone to help me," she told the outlet. "I can live on my own. I've got everything I need here. Nobody really cares about me and I don't want to see them, they don't want to see me."
Her most recent sighting caught Willison digging through the trash in black leggings, a black hat and barefoot. She spoke to the media again in 2021 after she was spotted doing some dumpster diving, revealing how she ended up on the beach. "I lost two jobs and everything went haywire. It's been two years, I've been on the streets since then," she told The Daily Mail.
Jeremy Jackson's homeless ex-wife Loni Willison drags trolley in LA while barefoot https://t.co/Upk6OMnxJZ pic.twitter.com/LE5eyeEiDL
— Mirror Celeb (@MirrorCeleb) March 3, 2022
She also spoke with The Sun last year, reacting to her situation while attempting to get help. "Even if I can ask for help there's not much one can do," she said at the time. "I can't live in a building. I can't live in a house. I can't live anywhere because I have to constantly move around. I'm not going to spoil someone else's life because people f**ked with me." So I'll just have to wait and see what happens with the passage of time."
The former cover model isn't seen much in public these days, always on the go and keeping her eyes peeled for a safe spot for the night. Her story is similar to that of former adult film star Jenny Lee, who fell on hard times and went underground in Las Vegas.