The good, the bad and the crazy - What happened in 2025?

It's been a rollercoaster year

It's been one rip-roaring rollercoaster of a year, good old 2025.

A quarter of a century into the second millennium and humanity remains as hell-bent as ever in fighting, bickering and just generally not being very nice to each other.

However, the beauty of plummeting out of the sky towards eventual destruction is the silver-lined clouds we can observe on the way down.

Too much happened in 2025 to just vomit it all back up in written prose, so we've decided to chronologise events into clean monthly segments because nothing beats a bit of order.

So, without further ado, here are the best and worst moments of 2025, through the eyes of someone who got to live it all through the moniker of JOE.co.uk.

January

Now, January 2026 will have to really be in form if it wants to top the start of 2025, because quite frankly the year was defined from the very off, as two hugely influential figures stole the limelight - just for slightly polarising reasons.

Donald Trump was of course inaugurated on 20 January, setting out a course of authoritarian chaos in the US from his mad board of tariffs to deploying the National Guard to US cities under rather dubious circumstances.

Meanwhile, the head to Trump's tail on the penny of influence was without doubt the infamous Bonnie Blue.

Whatever you think of the adult star, real name Tia Billinger, it's impossible to deny she didn't dictate news spotlights since the moment she slept with 1000 men at the start of 2025 - I mean, Channel 5 even made a documentary about it.

Incredibly enough, Trump and Blue started the year off strong, and probably finished it the most notorious still.

Oh yeah, let's also not forget when Elon Musk did that salute...

February

February was less exciting than January, although the bar was set pretty high.

Trump's first tariffs came into force against neighbours Mexico and Canada as well as world-stage rivals China.

Meanwhile, the US president was reportedly offended by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy's lack of formal attire when he didn't wear a suit to their meeting.

Elsewhere, EastEnders celebrated its 40th anniversary - Get outta my pub!

March

March saw a notable increase in global tensions as the war between Ukraine and Russia really warmed up.

Despite being physically constrained to Ukraine and Russia, the war's influence spread verbally into Europe and beyond as Russia mouthpieces and ministers started to send threats to the UK and its allies.

With this war of words, fears started to grow in the UK and EU, with some military experts even suggesting the need for conscription to return to the British Isles.

Elsewhere, hit Netflix show Adolescence gripped the nation and was lauded with praise for tackling themes of toxic masculinity, mental health struggles, social pressures, and bullying.

April

April saw the return of Trump's tariffs, with the US president providing one of his funnier moments when he slapped a 10% tariff on the Heard and McDonald Islands, uninhabited by humans, but home to around two million penguins.

We're still yet to find out how these tariffs have impacted what one can only assume as a thriving fishing industry.

Elsewhere, internet users everywhere were gripped by the great thought experiment of our time - who would win in a fight, one gorilla or 100 men?

Yes, while Socrates was asking 'why?' and René Descartes was pioneering scepticism, we, in 2025, were theorising just how good humans are at animal abuse.

Meanwhile, Katy Perry turned full-firework as it she went to space with an all-female crew aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket.

Notably, in a more sombre tone, Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre died aged 41 in what was just a precursor to a number of significant revelations concerning disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and his subsequent entourage in 2025.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis also died, paving the way for a new pope to be elected.

May

This month saw the beginning of the end of Elon Musk's close relationship with Donald Trump as he left the DOGE office in the US government.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church got its first American pope in Leo XIV following Pope Francis' death.

In sports, PSG finally reached the footballing Holy Grail as they finally got their hands on the Champions League trophy.

Furthermore, they joined an even more exclusive club as they achieved a treble of Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and the UCL.

In devastating news to all those lucky enough to grow up in the 2000s, Skype finally shut down for good, leaving that iconic, if not slightly mind-numbing, ringtone as but a mere memory.

Elsewhere, Liverpool lifted their second Premier League title.

June

June saw a remarkable spat on X as Elon Musk claimed Donald Trump was in the Epstein files, a tweet he ended up deleting, but further led to the two falling out, although we know now this claim is technically true.

Elsewhere, the world was sadly captured by the crash of an Air India Boeing 787 bound for London which led to the deaths of 260 people on board and on the ground with only one passenger surviving in miraculous circumstances.

Meanwhile, Greta Thunberg made headlines again as her 'Freedom Flotilla' headed for Palestine was seized by the Israeli Navy and she was deported back home.

July

Hello! July saw the return of Oasis on stage as their Live '25 Tour kicked off in Cardiff as the Gallagher brothers put their differences aside to bring Oasismania to the masses.

This month also saw Chelsea become 'world champions', if you can really call it that, while Donald Trump once again made headlines as he jumped on stage with the players to lift the trophy, much to the bemusement of a certain Cole Palmer.

This was a sad month as we saw two heartbreaking deaths as Liverpool star Diogo Jota tragically died in a car crash while later in the month the music world lost a legend in Ozzy Osbourne who died aged 76.

August

Things got spicy at home in the UK, as tensions began to boil over concerning asylum seekers, migrant hotels and 'the boats' as flag warfare hit fever pitch.

In an unprecedented rise in Union Flag hoisting, the UK hadn't seen such a high flag-to-lamppost ratio outside of a major event since probably forever.

People painted their houses red, white and blue while others decided roundabouts would make the perfect canvas.

However, spare a thought for the 'Hereford Wet Bandits' who managed to paint a Danish flag on a roundabout instead of an English one by accident.

Paranoia reached such a level that MP Rupert Lowe embarrassed himself on X after he filmed a group of rowers partaking in a charity event and claimed they were "illegal migrants" landing in Great Yarmouth.

It wasn't all boats and flags, however, as it's vitally important we shout out the Ibiza Final Boss, who went viral across the globe for his haircut, gold chain and generally chill vibe.

September

September was a politically charged month with Keir Starmer announcing plans for a digital ID which enraged the nation so much that a petition opposing the move hit one million signatures in a matter of days.

Elsewhere, Zack Polanski became leader of the Green Party, leading the way for a green revolution as the left-wing party exploding in popularity, currently having 15% of the vote share as of writing.

Meanwhile, this month also saw the public assassination of political figure Charlie Kirk, as well as a manhunt for his killer.

October

October saw Donald Trump snubbed of the Nobel Peace Prize, a title he had been vying for after claiming he had ended multiple wars during his premiership, losing out to Venezuelan activist María Corina Machado.

Elsewhere, imaginations across the globe were captured when The Louvre in Paris was robbed in broad daylight of about £77m of jewellery with pretty much just a lifting ladder.

This month also saw the beginning of the process of Prince Andrew losing his titles to become 'just Andrew'.

November

November saw a watershed moment in New York as Zohran Mamdani was elected as the next mayor the 'Big Apple'.

Talks at climate conference COP30 got underway but were put on hold after, somewhat ironically, a fire broke out, although fortunately no one was seriously hurt.

We also got the first look into what the real Epstein files might contain, as Democrats on the House Oversight Committee started releasing documents from the Epstein estate.

December

December saw Bonnie Blue round off 2025 in fine fashion as she was arrested in Bali, and later deported, for allegedly attempting to profit off producing adult content.

Not to be outdone by Blue, Donald Trump threw himself back in the spotlight - not like he ever left it - when he decided to sue the BBC for £7.5bn for the editing of his Capitol Hill speech in 2021.

This month also the Epstein files were released on the same night Anthony Joshua obliterated Jake Paul's jaw in the sixth round of their boxing match.