From a broken marriage to X factor and a miraculous healing

Mal Pope (MP): Tell us a little about your background. Are you a Cornish girl originally?

Juliet Dawn (JD): No, I’m actually from Cheshire — a village called Poynton near Macclesfield. I spent much of my adult life in Yorkshire after going to university in Sheffield. I also lived in Spain for two years while my parents were missionaries on the Costa del Sol. Later, I came back to Yorkshire, and about 13 or 14 years ago I moved to Cornwall.

MP: Growing up with missionary parents, faith must have been central to your childhood. What was that like?

JD: Very much so. Church was a big part of life – Sunday school, Bible studies, crusades. But it went deeper than that. My parents also had a counselling ministry, so our home was constantly full of people — one-to-one sessions, small groups, even people staying with us when they were in crisis. Music lessons, prayer meetings…it was an open-door home, always busy, always alive with ministry.

MP: Did you personally find faith early on, or was there a turning point?

JD: Honestly, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know Jesus. Reading the Bible and believing in God was just part of me from the very beginning. Of course, like anyone, I’ve gone through different seasons of life, but the truth of the gospel – that Jesus died for me and that we were created by God – has always been steady in my heart.

MP: Was music always part of that early journey?

JD: Interestingly, not really. My mum is a classically trained pianist, teacher and now a worship leader, so there was always music in the house. But I didn’t know I could sing until my last year at university. I joined the drama society and suddenly discovered my voice. At the time, I actually wanted to be a TV presenter, and singing seemed like a means to an end – a way to get professional contracts and an Equity card. I never saw it as my destiny back then.

MP: Life hasn’t been straightforward since then. You’ve faced some very difficult personal challenges. How did faith carry you through?

JD: At 21, I re-dedicated my life to God while living in Spain. I prayed a prayer that changed everything: “Lord, I want to make a difference – no matter the cost.” I meant it with all my heart, though I imagined the cost would be something like persecution or sacrifice for my faith. I didn’t realise life itself would throw so many challenges my way. But God knew, and he has been faithful.

I endured ten years in a coercive, controlling marriage

I endured ten years in a coercive, controlling marriage. It was emotionally abusive, verbally destructive – the sort of experience that could easily have broken someone completely. But my childhood faith and strong sense of identity in Christ gave me the resilience to survive. At 30, I finally found the courage to leave.

MP: That alone would be a heavy burden, but your story continues with more loss.

JD: Yes. After that, my now husband (we married in May 2001) and I went through three miscarriages, one after the other. Then a prophecy came that I would have a son called Samuel. What the person prophesying didn’t know was that we had already chosen that name if we had a boy. When I became pregnant with Sam, the pregnancy was extremely difficult – at seven weeks I was in a head-on car crash, then [there were] complications with the birth. Sam survived, but later we discovered he had glue ear, which affected his speech and social development.

Soon after, I became pregnant with twins. They were diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, and though doctors attempted a separation procedure, mistakes were made. Both boys died within four days of birth. At the same time, I nearly lost my life due to air and water entering my system during the procedure, and afterwards my eldest son nearly died of gastroenteritis. It was hit after hit after hit.

MP: In the middle of all that trauma, did you ever feel abandoned by God?

JD: At the time, I couldn’t feel his presence. I was numb, so just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. But my parents and other strong Christians supported me. Looking back, I can see his hand sustaining me. 

MP: Let’s talk about The X Factor. That must have felt like a very different world from everything you were facing at home.

JD: Yes. In 2005, my sister-in-law applied for us to audition. Honestly, I didn’t want to. I’d just lost the twins and was still traumatised. But we went, and we got through to boot camp. On the way, though, my sister-in-law received a phone call that her dad – my father-in-law – had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, given six weeks to live. We nearly turned back.

At boot camp, everything came to a head. I was unwell, still grieving, and our family was falling apart. We asked Simon Cowell if we could leave. They filmed us making that request, and he told us he respected our decision. It was quite a moment – apparently the first time contestants had asked to leave.

For me, it wasn’t destiny. It wasn’t about fame. It was survival. I even remember telling Simon that people shouldn’t be herded like cattle through such an emotional process. Looking back, it was never about The X Factor. It was just part of my journey of learning to stand strong in my truth.

MP: So when did faith ‘come alive’ again in your life, in a way that changed everything?

JD: [There were] several key moments. The biggest was when I was 43 and pregnant with my youngest son, Leo. He was diagnosed with gastroschisis – his bowel was outside his body – which is often fatal. But God miraculously healed him in the womb. Doctors told me it was a medical precedent; they had never seen it before. That miracle showed me God’s mercy and power in a way I’ll never forget.

Another turning point was when God gave me the gift of poetry. Out of my grief and trauma, I began to write. It wasn’t just writing; it was carrying God’s heart, his lament for brokenness, his message of hope. That gift humbled me deeply.

Genre doesn’t matter when God is moving

Then, a few years ago, my mum and I revived a musical adaptation of Pilgrim’s Progress, a production she had created years earlier in Spain. We crowdfunded and filmed it, and I took on the role of Pilgrim myself. That story of journeying through hardship mirrored my own life. The production was picked up by three TV stations and felt like a graduation moment – as though I had finally come through the ‘school of life’.

Out of that came my book OK, Fine, So Maybe God Exists. It combines my poetry with my testimony, sharing my story of abuse, trauma, miracles and hope. My heart was to reach the hurting and those who have never heard of Jesus, showing them that there is hope.

MP: And now we come to your music. Tell us about the new album.

JD: The album is called Born to Be. One of the singles, ‘Arise and shine’, was co-written with my mum and produced by Billy Smiley. It’s already out on Spotify, YouTube and other platforms. The whole project has been a joy, and it feels like a new chapter musically.

MP: And Nashville – that’s quite a leap from Cornwall. How did that happen?

JD: It really was God’s orchestration. In October 2023, my shop in Looe was flooded. I was devastated, thinking: “I can’t cope with another trauma.” A week later, out of the blue, I received an email from an A&R contact connected to the Extreme Tour in Nashville. At first I thought it was a scam! But we applied, were accepted, and eventually my mum and I travelled to Nashville.

We performed at an industry showcase. Most of the artists were rock, rap, R&B – very different from us. But when we got on stage, the Holy Spirit filled the room. People were in tears; the atmosphere was thick with his presence. It was confirmation that genre doesn’t matter when God is moving.

At an after-show event, the same thing happened in a local bar. The whole room went silent. People pulled out their phones and started recording us. We knew God was opening a new door. We later recorded at Castle Recording Studios, and from there everything fell into place – contacts, producers, opportunities. It was a sliding doors moment that only God could have orchestrated. My prayer is always that people hear not just my story, but see God’s hand in it, and that it brings hope to anyone walking through their own storm.

julietdawn.co.uk