X-Factor star Jason Owen reveals his eight-year struggle with a debilitating skin condition that made people recoil from him in the street and shops refuse to take his cash

Former X-Factor star Jason Owen has opened up for the first time about a crippling skin condition that left him too afraid to leave the house.

Shops refused to take his cash after seeing the painful lesions on his hands, fans recoiled from him in the street, and his legs bled so bad he couldn't walk.

Owen, 26, is one of 1.6 million Australians who suffer from psoriasis, a debilitating autoimmune disease that causes blotchy patches on the skin.

Former X-Factor star Jason Owen has opened up for the first time about his eight-year battle with psoriasis, a crippling skin condition that left him too afraid to leave the house

Owen (pictured with his fiancee Becy Harvey) first started suffering from the condition aged 18, just after he appeared on the show

Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, LeeAnn Rimes, and Cara Delevigne, also have the condition, but Owen's condition is one of the more serious.

'It's something that's caused me great anxiety, shame, and stress which I've always tried to cover up,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Owen had a huge career break on X-Factor in 2012 when he was 18, but his fame was bittersweet as the first flare-up of his psoriasis was soon after the show ended.

'Shortly after X-Factor there was a lot of attention on me in my hometown of Dubbo, NSW,' he said.

'Everywhere I went people would come up to me and then recoil at the sight of my skin which made me not want to leave the house.

'To this day, I have people in shops hesitant to take cash from me as they look at my hands and even ask if I have something contagious. 

Owen was the runner up on X-Factor Australia 2012 and won a recording contract from Sony but his fame was bittersweet as the first flare-up of his psoriasis was soon after the show ended

Owen, 26, is one of 1.6 million Australians who suffer from psoriasis, a debilitating autoimmune disease that causes blotchy patches on the skin

What is psoriasis?

Source: Psoriasis Australia

'I tend to wear long sleeve shirts and sometimes have to apply foundation make up on my face which is pretty confronting for a man.' 

The first lesions started appearing on his elbows and knees but soon spread all over his body. 

'I even had to postpone gigs as I couldn't walk due to lesions between my legs constantly rubbing and bleeding,' he said.

'It should have been a really exciting time of my life with my career just taking off but instead I was a mess both inside and out. 

'I was always scared of people finding out so I did everything I could to hide it.'

Owen was prescribed steroid pills when he was 20 but side effects made him gain 15kg in fluid. 

'The pills only made minimal difference but due to my weight gain I started getting trolled online, so it wasn't worth it,' he said.

'The best thing now is to get out in the sun as that helps the lesions a little, although it does mean I have to go out uncovered. I have also lost weight in the last year and am feeling better for it.'

Owen said he was revealing his condition publicly for the first time because he didn't want to hide it anymore.

'I now feel the time is right to speak more about my journey to de-stigmatise the condition so people will treat sufferers like myself with more compassion,' he said. 

Owen proposed on Studio 10 last year, dropping down on one knee after performing Celine Dion's Power of Love, but had to postpone their wedding

Owen posted this quote to his Instagram, meaning the words literally

Psoriasis expert Peter Foley said a recent Swedish study suggested that men tend to suffer from more severe forms of the condition.

Dr Foley said new biologic drug treatments were proving effective, along with lifestyle changes like losing weight and cutting out alcohol and cigarettes. 

'Skin on more than 70 per cent of patients will become clear or almost clear with biologic therapies, however if treatment is stopped it will tend to reoccur,' he said.  

Owen is having tests before starting a new course of systemic treatments - another part of a tough year that saw him cancel 30 concerts due to coronavirus.

He also had to put off his wedding to fiancee Becy Harvey, whom he met at a business dinner in a bar in Dubbo four years ago.

'I know there's no cure, but I'm going to be doing all I can to live with the condition as best I can,' he said.