I'm A Celeb's Reverend Richard Coles 'destroyed' by husband's death

Reverend Richard Coles has lived a full life, from starring in pop band The Communards to performing on Strictly Come Dancing, he has done it all... and now he has entered the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here jungle.

However, despite his joyous personality and great sense of humour, the 63-year-old has dealt with his fair share of tragedy and loss.

Richard tragically lost his husband, fellow priest David, to alcoholism in December 2019, nine years after they tied the knot, when he was just 43 years old.

The Reverend, who jetted off to the Australian jungle as a late arrival, revealed that the loss had destroyed a part of him and he was left in a 'paralysing' period of sadness in the aftermath.

Richard lived with his husband David and their four dogs Daisy, Audrey, Horatio and Pongo in the vicarage of St Mary's in Finedon, UK.

Opening up about his death, in his 2022 Channel 4 documentary, the Reverend said: 'I was absolutely with David through thick and thin, and I was with him till the very end.'

'If you really love someone, part of you is destroyed when they die. I don't want to pretend that's not the case. I sometimes feel the tension that I will leave him behind.'

The 63-year-old also said that he feels a 'tinge of disloyalty' as he continues to live a full life, but reassures he would never let his memory die.

In an interview with The Guardian in 2021, Richard confessed that he was left with an overwhelming sense of guilt in the months after his death.

The Reverend said: 'I think anyone who has shared their life with an addict, particularly someone who has died as a result of that addiction, you are beset by the various guilts that come with that. ‘Should I have done more?’ That thought pecks and pecks away at you.'

Richard has since found love again with actor Dickie Cant, however, he won't be flying to Australia to greet him on the other side of the bridge because of work commitments.

Ahead of his stint in the jungle, he said: 'I will miss my partner a lot and of those I have told, they all think it's hilarious I'm doing this. They have told me not to talk too much – especially first thing in the morning.'

Wishing you the best of luck in the jungle Reverend Coles!