Seen as though George Lucas cast him in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace when he was just 8-years-old, it seemed the lad was destined for big things in Hollywood.

However, Jake stepped away from the spotlight just four years after his acting career began.

Shortly after the Star Wars prequel was released in 1999, the youngster retired himself from the entertainment industry after starring in ER, Unhook the Stars, Jingle All the Way and Apollo 11.

Eight years later, Jake was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he left college to live with his mother Lisa.

“When they finally told him, it totally threw him off into an even worse depression,” his mum told Scripp News last year. “It was really hard.”

A turbulent few years followed, with Jake landing himself in trouble with the law as he struggled to come to terms with his diagnosis.

As well as this, he was also suffering from a neurological condition called anosognosia, which causes people to be unaware of, or unconsciously in denial about, their medical condition.

“He didn’t think he needed to take medication because he wasn’t sick,” Lisa added. “He didn’t think he needed to go to the therapist because there’s nothing wrong with him.”

The child actor portrayed the young Anakin Skywalker in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (Lucas Films)

Jake then suffered a ‘full-blown psychotic break’ in March 2023, which was compounded by the death of his sister Madison, 26, – who also appeared in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

She died of natural causes in her sleep in 2018.

Lisa explained that two years ago, Jake suddenly ‘turned the car off in the middle of the three lanes’ as they drove home, resulting in other road users alerting authorities.

That day, he was admitted to a hospital and a few months later he was transferred to a mental health rehabilitation facility to take part in an inpatient program.

Jake has since wrapped up his 18-month stay at the facility in Southern California, and told Variety in January this year that he is now feeling ‘pretty good’.

He still receives care from a different treatment centre, however, he can come and go as he pleases.

“[I’m feeling] pretty good, considering these 20 years of time that have come to an end,” Jake said. “I can now accept taking on continued treatment, and therapy, and my meds.

Jake Lloyd pictured in 2011 (Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)

“Everyone’s been very supportive,” the child actor said.

He explained that although he hit ‘rock bottom’ at one point, it was a crucial step that allowed him to ‘honestly take part in treatment, honestly take his meds, and honestly live with his diagnosis’.

Discussing how his medication helps him manage his schizophrenia, he added: “I don’t have the time for feeling volatile. It is very much a cushion.”

Lisa also previously explained that his mental health struggles were the reason he quit acting, rubbishing rumours that it was due to the the unfavourable response that the 1999 Star Wars film received upon it’s release.

“It would have happened anyway,” she told Scripp News of her son’s schizophrenia. “I believe that it was genetic. And his psychiatrist also agrees that Jake was going to become schizophrenic.”

The mum said that she had ‘protected’ Jake from the Star Wars ‘backlash’ when he was a child, adding: “He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn’t know. He didn’t care.

“Everybody makes such a big deal about that. And it’s rather annoying to me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn’t really feel all that stuff because I didn’t let him online.”

According to Lisa, her son still ‘loves’ the famous franchise, as she said last year: “People think Jake hates Star Wars. He loves it.”

We have to admit, the mysterious island does look rather strange, appearing completely hollow and quite literally like a huge, dark hole in the middle of the ocean.

After months of speculation over the location of the area, in November 2021 it was announced that the ‘hole’ is actually an uninhabited island called Vostok Island, belonging to the Republic of Kiribati, a country located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Apparently, its dark appearance is down to the island’s Pisonia trees which cover the area.

The trees are dark green in colour but due to them being so densely packed together on the island, they appear much darker.

“What you see as black is actually very dark green, it’s a very dense forest made up of Pisonia trees,” one person pointed out online.

It’s actually an uninhabited island called Vostok Island (Google Maps)

Following the discovery, a video of a diver exploring the mysterious black hole was unearthed on YouTube.

Published by National Geographic over 15 years ago, the clip saw diver Enric Sala revealing how he had just enjoyed one of the best dives of his life, exploring the wildlife of Vostok’s rich coral reefs.

“Well, we just came back from a dive on Vostok Island,” he said.

“I just did the very best dive of my life.”

Eric went on: “There were [indistinct] sharks around us, schools of jags, barracuda and surgeon fish, everything!

“Incredible! Really unbelievable. This is the most pristine place we have dived so far. We have found it, this is it. Vostok Island.

“I cannot wait for tomorrow to get back in the water.”

Sala explored the wildlife of Vostok’s rich coral reefs (National Geographic)

Despite people now knowing the location of the island, it hasn’t stopped the conspiracy theories being circulated online.

“My first thought was that it’s censored,” one Reddit user said in a post about the island.

“It wouldn’t make sense for a natural formation to be black like that in such a shallow, small atoll/island.”

Others were quick to draw on Lost references, adding: “Ladies and gentlemen, they have found the island in Lost.”

According to Brittanica, there are no inhabitants on the island, which was reportedly sighted for the first time back in 1820 by Russian Antarctic explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen.

It was then said to be claimed in 1860 by the United States under the Guano Act of 1856 and by Great Britain in 1873.

In fact, the 53-year-old has recently seen his net worth plummet by $52 billion (£41 billion) since the start of 2025, due to a loss of market confidence in his businesses.

To you and I, £41 billion sounds like an inconceivable amount of money, but things move very differently in the world of the uber-rich and imaginary zeros of vale being added on or taken away from a number is just part of the finance game.

So, why has Elon Musk’s net worth taken a nosedive?

Elon Musk has seen a $52 billion decline in his net worth this year (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Why the entrepreneur is busy spamming his follower’s X timelines with memes and verbal diarrhoea, Tesla sales have been slumping worldwide.

According to a report from CNN Business, shares in the electric vehicle company have decreased around 20% over the past month, while European sales have declined by 45% in the same period. This is a stark contrast to last November’s spike as investors raced to cash on his support for newly elected Donald Trump.

The company’s market value has also dropped below the $1 trillion mark for the first time since the US Presidential election. His personal net worth would later peak at an all-time high of $486.4 billion (£386 billion) on 17 December (per Bloomberg).

NBC News suggests that a decline in Tesla popularity could be down to Musk’s polarising personal beliefs, which have seen the SpaceX founder making headlines nearly everyday since Trump was inaugurated into the White House.

DOGE department debacles, such as recently at the centre of a ‘productivity email’ debacle, are potentially at fault for his decline in personal popularity.

The news follows a global slump in Tesla sales (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

A possible further decline in Tesla shares was suggested by The Future Fund’s Gary Black, however, he doesn’t believe this will have long-term damage for the company.

“Tesla’s superior products, new more affordable vehicle, which I believe will be a new form factor and expand Tesla’s total addressable market, and the promise of unsupervised autonomy will sell more Teslas,” Black wrote on X.

But before any of us reach into our back pockets and start a whip round for Musk, his status as the world’s richest man isn’t currently under threat from the massive losses.

According to Forbes, Musk’s real-time net worth is $353.2 billion (£280.3 billion) at the time of writing, which still means he is still $100 billion ahead of competitors Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — despite losing around $5 billion (£3.9 billion) in just the last day.

The couple – who married in 2011 – have four children, Sophia, 13, Liberty, nine, Johnny, seven, and Jack, five.

As they navigate the ups and downs of family life, Abbey and Peter have spoken about one rule which they’ve recently brought in for all four of their kids, and it’s worked wonders.

Speaking about it on their podcast, The Therapy Crouch, the former England footballer explained: “We said to them iPads and phones are gone and I feel we’ve stuck to that.

“We made a conscious effort amongst ourselves to cut them out and they’ve properly cut them out.”

According to the parents, they implemented the ban over Christmas and have seen some positive changes since they made the decision, with the pair explaining it had had a huge impact on attitude.

“We’re in a good place now,” said Peter.

The pair are known for being brutally honest on their podcast, and have also opened up on their own relationship.

The pair explained their parenting techniques on their podcast (YouTube/The Therapy Crouch)

In a previous episode of the podcast, during their ‘whine of the week’ segment – in which Abbey is allowed to bring up one complaint on air – the model revealed how her husband tries it on when they’re home alone.

“I just don’t know how long I can go on with these sexual emojis that you keep sending me,” she said. “If the kids go to school and he hears me like, put the key in the door I’m in and no one’s in the house, I just get a beaver and an aubergine emoji text.”

Attempting to not mention the third emoji, Clancy added: “I’m not even gonna say the last one but you can imagine what it is. It’s got a bit of hydration in there.”

“How vile is that?” she added. “Am I supposed to go, ‘Oh yeah, now I’m bang up for it’.”

The couple have four kids together (Instagram/@abbeyclancy)

While laughing his head off, Crouch defended his choice of emojis, saying: “The beaver emoji is the best emoji out of the lot. It’s incredible.”

The model then asked: “Do you think you’re gonna get lucky with those messages?” to which the BT pundit honestly replied: “I’m just letting you know, I’m putting my cards on the table.”

“I absolutely love Peter Crouch. What a man!” one person tweeted.

“If you don’t ask you don’t get!” another joked.

The pair came to verbal blows in the Oval Office earlier today (28 February), with the US president warning his Ukrainian counterpart that he was ‘gambling with World War III’.

Put it this way – Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, was left with her head in her hands after hearing the leaders lock horns.

As well as patting his own nation on the back for offering military support, Trump told Zelenskyy that Ukraine is in ‘big trouble’ and that the country is ‘not winning’ the conflict with Russia.

“If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks,” he fumed. “You don’t have the cards right now. You’re buried there, people are dying, you’re running low on soldiers.

“With us, you have the cards…You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people! You’re gambling with World War III! What you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country.”

The mention of World War III has obviously set alarm bells ringing for a lot of people, and a host of Brits have now been left wondering where the UK stands in all of this.

Zelenskyy’s disastrous visit came hot on the heels of Sir Keir Starmer’s sit-down with Trump, where the leaders both vowed to nurture the longstanding transatlantic relationship.

Despite their meeting appearing very chummy and Trump describing the UK Prime Minister as a ‘special man’, the pair took opposing views on what to do about Ukraine.

Keir Starmer and Donald Trump put on a united front as they sat down together earlier this week (Carl Court – Pool/Getty Images)

Trump stated that ‘if it [a peace deal] doesn’t happen quickly, it may not happen at all’, while Starmer insisted that ‘history must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader’.

The president insisted that the US would ‘always be with the British’, but seemed to suggest he wouldn’t follow the UK’s suit by sending soldiers over to Ukraine to enforce any peace deal.

The Labour leader recently declared that he is ‘ready and willing’ to send UK troops to the war-torn country, while he also drastically amped up the UK’s defence spending.

According to Trump, UK soldiers would be able to ‘take care of themselves’ in this peace-keeping scenario.

When asked if he would bolster the British military in Ukraine with US forces if necessary, Trump responded: “If they need help, I’ll always be with the British, okay? But they don’t need help.

“The British have incredible soldiers, incredible military and they can take care of themselves.”

So… as Starmer is somewhat stuck in the middle amid Zelenskyy and Trump’s spat on Friday, where does the UK government go from here?

The UK Prime Minister has been an avid supporter of Ukraine (Carl Court/Getty Images)

Well, according to reports, Downing Street will stand firm.

Sources told Sky News that the government’s position – which the insider described as ‘unwavering support for just and lasting peace that ensures Ukraine’s sovereignty and security’ – remains unchanged.

Reiterating Starmer’s ‘no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine’ stance, the source then added: “Let’s see what happens in coming days.”

Trump quickly issued a statement regarding the drama in the Oval Office on his platform Truth Social, before Zelenskyy shared a response of his own.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also shared her thoughts on the explosive exchange in a post on X too, saying ‘respectable diplomacy is essential for peace’.

“A divided West only benefits Russia,” Badenoch wrote. “Now is the time for more cooperation, not less. Any peace agreement must be negotiated with Ukraine at the table, and will need security guarantees.

“We cannot lose sight of the fact that tonight air raid sirens are sounding in Ukraine.”

On Sunday (2 March), Starmer will hold talks in Downing Street with Zelenskyy and other European leaders in the hopes of working out how to secure ‘lasting and enforced’ peace in Ukraine.

On Friday (28 February), Trump and Zelenskyy – along with Vice President JD Vance – met in the Oval Office where they spoke about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.

“We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel, because you’re in no position to dictate that… You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel.

“We’re going to feel very good and very strong.

“You’re not in a very good position, you’ve allowed yourself to be in a bad position… you don’t have the cards right now… you’re gambling with the lives of millions of people! You’re gambling with World War III!”

The pair had a heated meeting (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

At one point, Vance interjected, asking the Ukrainian president: “In this entire meeting, have you said thank you?

“You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October, offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.”

Trump added: “Your country is in big trouble. Wait a minute. No, no, you’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble.”

It’s reported that Zelenskyy has now left the White House with a joint press conference now cancelled.

Taking to X after the tense exchange, Zelenskyy wrote: “Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people.

“Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”

A press conference with the two leaders has now been cancelled (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump has also shared a statement online about the tense meeting, writing on his Truth Social platform: “We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.

“I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”