03 May 2023 , 21:19
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Rylan Clark says he is "almost glad" his divorce nearly killed him, and he's a stronger person due to the breakdown of his marriage.
The 34-year-old TV presenter married to Big Brother contestant Dan Neal in 2015 but their relationship imploded when Rylan came clean about cheating on him at the start of their relationship, and they divorced in 2021.
The split led to Rylan having a breakdown and being admitted to hospital, as he was "a threat to myself".
He recalled how he couldn't fulfil the smallest task, such as making a cup of tea, but slowly rebuilt his life.
Now the Radio 2 presenter says the split made him stronger, after hitting "rock bottom".
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Rylan sank into a deep depression when his husband left him, but now says the marriage breakdown made him stronger (Getty Images)Speaking on podcast How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, said his divorce "pretty much nearly did kill me."
He went on: "It was really difficult, looking back on it now, it's awful to sit there and say this but I am almost glad it nearly killed me. And I am so thrilled I can say that two years on, because I didn't think I could say that two years on.
"And I won't go into too much detail but it was extremely traumatic and I'm not just being dramatic, it was very much trauma."
Rylan and Dan, pictured in 2016, split in 2021 (S Meddle/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)The former It Takes Two presenter explained there were "a lot of elements that came into play with the breakdown of my relationship and then how that played out for months after, which is why I got so ill."
The 6ft 4in host told Elizabeth he went down to 9st during his breakdown.
"When you get to the point of no return nearly, that's when you sit there and go 'now I can see I will never let anything or anyone get me to where I was in that state', I would never let that happen to myself again."
Speaking about the impact of his ordeal, Rylan said: "Because of that trauma and because of that treading down on me, I think it's genuinely for want of a better term made me so much stronger.
"I would like to think the breakdown of my marriage had made me the person I am now. And I am really happy with the person I am now and I I can sleep very well at night."
Rylan says his divorce nearly killed him (BBC)Rylan has previously spoken of his recovery, telling the Sun on Sunday : “I couldn’t make my mum a cup of tea. I had the fear. I couldn’t do it.
“What I look back on is little things. You need to look at yourself like a toddler. Going to the kitchen and pressing the button on the kettle is a step.
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"The day that you go, ‘I’m just going to press the button — I’m not making the tea, let it boil, f*** it off’. The day you do that, that’s a little step. And the reason I say toddler is because you sit and applaud yourself for that."
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