Celebrity MasterChef's Wynne Evan's 5st weight loss after painful divorce
Best known as the moustached man singing his heart out on the telly, Wynne Evans is set to appear on our screens once again but for a very different cause.
No longer encouraging us to buy car insurance with Go.Compare, the Welsh opera singer is instead persuading viewers and the judges that he has what it takes to win this year's Celebrity MasterChef.
Earlier this year, Wynne, 51, from Cardiff, revealed to the Mirror he had lost more than five stone after struggling with depression following his heartbreaking divorce, which left him devastatingly contemplating suicide.
But in tonight's episode of the BBC cooking competition, he'll be able to show off the culinary skills he learnt as he kickstarted a new healthy eating regime that transformed his life.
Wynne before and after his recent weight loss (PA Real Life)Wynne admitted that he has struggled with his weight ever since he was a child, weighing 23.6 stone at his heaviest - and at one stage, he worried about sitting down on chairs in case he broke them. However after starting his health journey last September, he has lost five stone.
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The father-of-two bought a Peloton bike and treadmill and started running every day - an activity which has improved his mental health - and he also adjusted his diet and calorie intake, cutting out cheese, one of his favourite treats, along with carbohydrates.
"You can only do it when you're ready to do it, when you know you can get through it," Wynne said. "Life is about putting in the work yourself. You put in some work on your mental health or your physical health, and then you get a bit of luck - that luck could be an opportunity, like it was with me getting the Go.Compare job, or it could be the spark that makes you lose weight or get healthier.
"When you put the work in, then you're ready to run with it... So, my message is talk to people, get involved, do stuff, and don't feel ashamed about anything - whether you're feeling low, or fat, or thin, or anything. There's no right or wrong, just don't be embarrassed."
He starred as tenor Gio Compario in the Go.Compare advert (REX/Shutterstock)He said he is "still not tiny", but after shedding 10 inches off his waist, felt "great". Although speaking to the Mirror on Tuesday, he revealed he has had a setback due to surgery on his feet. "I did a lot of Peloton, although I've just had my bunions done so I'm not exercising at the moment, which is not working brilliantly for me," he said.
"I've got five screws in each foot – they had to break every toe. I’m in quite a bit of pain with it, actually." His fire to reignite his life came when his marriage broke down in 2016, with the dark period being "the saddest (he had) ever been in (his) life".
Despite "going through the worst depression", given his successful singing career and his "upbeat" BBC radio show in Wales, where he aims to "cheer up the nation", he felt he "had to wear a mask publicly to show everything was okay". His parents had both already passed away by the time of his divorce, and so with Wynne having "nobody there", he felt abandoned and started to experience suicidal thoughts.
Since food had always been a source of comfort for the tenor during times of stress or hardship, even as a youngster, "eating became second nature" and he went on to reach his heaviest weight of 150 kilos following the split from his now ex-wife. He had to find specific retailers who sold his clothing size - a 5XL - and did his utmost to hide his anxiety and depression from the world.
Wynne is set to appear in this year's cooking competition (BBC /Shine TV)"I was doing a daily radio show where the feel of it is upbeat and keeping people in a good mood and cheering up the nation," he said. "The strapline of my show is, 'cheering Wales up by one o'clock,' but I was going through the worst depression, clinical depression. I would think about (suicide), I would try and action it... I couldn't see a way out; I couldn't see a way of ever being happy again."
However, one Easter Sunday, Wynne said everything came to a head and he knew he needed help, and he "started to try and put (his) life back together". He continued: "I was feeling suicidal, and it was terrible. I just thought, I'm either going to do something terrible or I need to go and see a proper psychiatrist."
Wynne saw a psychiatrist and was prescribed tablets for his anxiety and depression, and he said he felt "much better, practically instantly". He felt it "really important" to speak about mental health because there is no point "pretending everything is okay".
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Looking back, he felt "depression and anxiety is (his) superpower", as it has made him "a better singer, better entertainer, and a better person". "I had bad anxiety and I used to get stage fright, and I think it's made me a much better person actually," Wynne said.
"I'm much kinder, much more patient, I try and live every day to the fullest and really enjoy myself. I started to rebuild my life and that's where I am today - I do a show every day, I've got my own TV series in Wales, and it's great. If I could freeze life and keep it going like it is now, I would do that."
You can visit Wynne's website here: www.wynneevans.co.uk
* Celebrity MasterChef airs on Wednesday at 9pm on BBC1
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