I'm A Celebrity's latest campmate Reverend Richard Coles suffered the devastating loss of his husband.
The vicar, who is set to enter the ITV camp tonight, was left struggling in 2019 afterthe tragic death of his husband Reverend David Colesjust days beforeChristmas. David, also a clergyman, was only 43 when he died of liver disease in 2019, caused by an alcohol addiction that had gripped him since his teenage years.
“I often think if someone dies of drink as people used to say, that people filed them under a sort of tragic, squalid death," Richard once said as he explained why he had wanted to keep the painful detail of his alcoholism private. "David was so much more than that. I wanted to get a sense of why David was so important to those who loved him before we got to a discussion of what killed him.”
Richard and David began their relationship in 2007. Three years later the pair entered into a civil partnership and David took Richard's surname. At the time, Richard assured the church their relationship was celibate but he recently confessed this was a lie to enable him to keep his job as a vicar. In an interview with The Times, he said: "I felt sometimes like I was in the resistance and they were the Gestapo."
"I’m not the first person to find themselves obliged to lie for institutional reasons in the Church of England," added the vicar, who worked at St Mary The Virgin Church in Finedon, near Peterborough, from 2011 to 2022. Richard has since found love again as he shared last year that he was happily coupled up with Dickie Cant who is the son of late actor and Play Away presenter Brian Cant.
The pair met on a dating app as Dickie made the first move. Richard revealed that Dickie doesn't care about fame, and that he in turn doesn't mind that Dickie is atheist. Speaking to the Sunday Times, he also addressed the grief and loss after his husband David died following his battle with alcoholism. Richard said: "I'm angry when people speak in a way that means they think you should be over it. It's not a cold. He also admitted that losing him "messed his f***ing life up."
Richard has also suffered other heartbreak earlier this year. Back in February, Richard posted a photo of his mum Elizabeth laughing on her wedding day as he shared his tragic news of her death. He wrote: "Mum died last night. Here she is on her wedding day, laughing. No mummy’s boy (hello) could have wished for more. RIP." David Baddiel offered his support as he said: "Sorry to hear this Richard. May her memory be a blessing."
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