Was fame too much for Jimmy White to handle? Thrillz has the story.
Jimmy White: The Rising Champion
Jimmy Warren White MBE was born on May 2nd in Balham, South London who is a professional snooker player from the UK. Nicknamed the ‘Whirlwind’ for his fast attacking yet fluid snooker plays. Jimmy is one of the highest-ranked players which makes him one of the greatest English snooker players of all time, and definitely one to beat.
Jimmy White is commonly known as the ‘people’s champion’ for all his successes in the sport. He is a six-time World Championship finalist between 1984 and 1994 but unfortunately never won any of them as he was battling his cocaine and alcohol addiction.
However, the Whirlwind (Jimmy) has won two out of three major snooker tournaments, known as the UK Championships (in 1992) and The Masters (in 1984). Jimmy is still currently ranked tenth on the all-time list of ranking event winners, which is a huge achievement as it includes snooker champions from all over the world.
A fun fact about Jimmy is that he was one of the first left-handed players to record a maximum break at the snooker World Championship.
Living life on the edge
Jimmy has battled a lot throughout his life, he has since been in recovery and on a straight and narrow path from drugs and alcohol. There was a time in the 1990s where cocaine and alcohol became part of Jimmy’s everyday and normal life.
Jimmy White has opened up and since admitted that if he beat Alex Higgins at the 1982 Snooker World Champions it would have killed him. The Whirlwind is lucky to be alive as he would spend £10,000 every month on crack cocaine, this was in the 1980’s when he was at the peak of his fame. Had all the fame and money gone to his head?
Jimmy had lost the fourth finals in the early 1990s to Stephen Hendry and has since opened up about it in an interview with Eurosport, he said: “I lost the four finals but in those days (1990s) I was giving him a head start of about 10 grams of cocaine and four bottles of Jack Daniels”. The Whirlwind was definitely on the road to self-destruction, and what made it worse was that he knew it..
During a snooker tournament, the players would face numerous rounds of drug tests to ensure they’re ‘clean’ and ready to compete. Jimmy on the other hand made sure to take his class-A drugs in between tournaments, this was so he wouldn’t get caught by drug testers. The years of cocaine abuse led Jimmy into a horrible downfall of crack addiction, the snooker legend became hooked onto the highly addictive drug for a few months he said to the Daily Record: “It’s like being an alcoholic. The first hit is the best – like your first drink. But you never hold on to that first hit.”
Jimmy was known for his infamous nights out especially in Manchester with his friends. The night began in a Manchester club that Jimmy would frequently go to with the famous group the Rolling Stones, one drink after the other and line after line of cocaine he woke up 2 days later in Jersey. He had no recollection of how he got there.
Jimmy has had a turbulent life as he has beaten cancer, an addiction to drugs and drinks and a gambling habit that cost him millions. To this day Jimmy is now drug-free and does his best to stay on his straight and narrow road to even avoid drug users. He is now a grandfather and dating the glamorous walk-on girl and beauty queen Jade Slusarczyk.
Jimmy’s relationship and family life
Jimmy was previously married to Maureen Mockler in 1982, the couple went on to have five children: Lauren, Ashleigh, Georgia, Breeze and Tommy. They both went through a lot together which in the long run put a strain on their marriage, Maureen was there supporting Jimmy not only through a snooker tournament but through his cocaine and alcohol addiction. She was also helping him through his testicular cancer recovery in 1995.
Maureen and Jimmy’s marriage definitely didn’t have the fairytale ending that would have been hoped for, in fact married life for the couple was always up and down. Jimmy described the marriage as volatile, especially when he would come back home after a night out. Maureen had soon found other women’s phone numbers in Jimmy’s pockets and phone. The couple decided to divorce in 2008, they were both two different people by then and decided it would have been for the best. But Maureen and the family had helped Jimmy massively when he had hit rock-bottom, and he is forever grateful to them.
The 59 year old is currently in a relationship with his partner Jade Slusarczyk born 1985, who is 23 years younger than him, and have been dating for the last three years. Jimmy White’s girlfriend Jade is a former beauty queen winning Miss Blackpool Gazette in 2011, and is currently a TV Presenter and a Sky Sports Walk-On girl for both darts and snooker. Jimmy first met former Miss Blackpool Jade at the Snooker Shout Out, where he initially lied about his age making out he was younger. At the time the pair both had partners but continued to stay in contact.
Jimmy and Jade stayed friends for all those years until they finally got together in 2008, he never thought anything would happen romantically between them as they were both initially friends.
The pair might not have taken much notice of their significant age difference but the public certainly did. When you’re a snooker legend like Jimmy the media will always write stories and scrutinise you because you’re constantly in the public eye, and the media had a lot to say about the age difference.
Many articles called Jade a ‘gold digger’, as they didn’t think her love for Jimmy was genuine and she was just chasing his millions. Jade previously told The Mirror “I didn’t know who he was or that he was famous”, whether people believe her or not she doesn’t care because she and Jimmy know the truth. Jade helped Jimmy overcome his addiction and drinking habits, he claims Jade is the influence he needed as she doesn’t drink.
In the last couple of months, it has been reported that the walk-on girl Jade and the snooker legend Jimmy are still living apart. Jade is based in Blackpool while Jimmy is in Surrey, the pair have both said it’s an arrangement they are happy with. Who knows what the future will hold for the happy couple, will marriage be on the table?