Radio host and Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two presenter, Rylan Clark has opened up about his months out of the spotlight last year when his marriage to Dan Neal broke down.
The 33-year-old, who shot to stardom on The X Factor 10 years ago, has spoken about his struggles in his new book Ten: The Decade That Changed My Future, which chronicles his life from finding fame on The X Factor in 2012 up until now. For the fiirst time in the book, he details the reasons his and Dan's marriage ended, which saw Clark disappear from his show on Radio 2 and Eurovision coverage, prompting fans' concern.
He writes: "I woke up one morning and decided to tell my now ex that I had cheated on him, years ago. I’m not sure why it was that time, or that day I had to do it. But I did." On the reaction, Rylan continues: "He left. Told me it was over and that was that. You’re not surprised? I get that. But I couldn’t believe it."
He writes: "And for the first time in 32 years I felt I couldn't carry on no more. What's the point I thought. I'd lost what I thought was everything, the one thing I always wanted. A man I loved. A family of my own. And now it was gone. And so I tried to end it."
He then sought help and spent time in a mental health hospital. Speaking at an event in London on Wednesday night, Rylan reflected on that time and the Mirror reports him saying: "It is no secret that my marriage broke down last year. And I disappeared for five or six months and people knew when I didn't turn up for work that something was wrong because I am always on f****g telly, you know what I mean?
"But the truth is what I went through last year was so revisited with writing about it. A lot of people said to me, especially my publishers 'It will be cathartic. It will be a good thing for you.' And it was to a certain extent, but actually it was awful because you will find out in the book just how bad I got from my own self and it was."
He then added: "The book opens with a disclaimer put it that way. That is how bad it got." Rylan's openness about that tough time in his life is also covered on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast, where he details the fact he went down to nine stone, saying: "My body did completely shut down. I wouldn't eat. I went through a stage where I couldn't even talk, which for some people might be quite handy. My speech was just slurred. My mum thought I was having a stroke. My body just went. I went down to 9st and I am 6ft 4."
In a shocking moment at his event, An Evening With Rylan Clark, the TV star also revealed he'd had two heart failures, he said: "Twice last year I ended up back in an ambulance because my heart had failed and it was really strange because I just remember for a couple of weeks going, “My heart hurts.”
"‘My heart had to be restarted. I just remember lying in re-sus[citation], because I had these pads on with all these wires, and not understanding what it was."
At the time of the split, Rylan, who returns to TV this week with It Takes Two, on BBC Two, put out a message about the covering of his marriage, writing: "Following reports about Dan and I spending time apart, I feel I have to speak out - as the way it is being reported is unfair. I have made a number of mistakes which I deeply regret and have inevitably led to the breakdown of our marriage."
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