Paul Burrell: 'My ex-wife always knew that I was attracted to men'

Earlier this month, Paul Burrell revealed that he is in a relationship with another man, Graham Cooper, and that they will be getting married later this year.

Now the reality TV star, who used to be the late Princess Diana’s butler, has opened up about his sexuality – insisting that his wife of 32 years always knew that he was attracted to men.

Speaking about his relationship with Maria, Paul shared: “She wanted it to be for life [but] I think she went into it with her eyes wide open.

“She knew of me in the palace and she knew my lifestyle.”

When asked if he meant that she knew that he is “gay”, the 58 year old replied: “I don’t like that word, gay. What’s gay? I think there’s a sliding scale of black to white, we’re all on there somewhere.

“Yes I was attracted to men and she knew, but I was also attracted to women and we had a wonderful life.”

The star went on to add that he has no regrets about his marriage, with the pair separating 10 years ago before officially divorcing last year.

Speaking on This Morning, he continued: “My golden years were marrying Maria and having our boys, I will never regret that.

“I would not want to turn the clock back and change it, that’s who I am.”

Paul is dad to Nick, 24, and Alex, 27, and he admitted that telling them about his relationship with Graham was pretty tough.

He explained: “How do you, as a father, tell your children?

“I loved my wife, I still love my wife, I love my boys, they’re the best thing that ever happened.

“To sit with them and talk about my sexuality, to cry with them and say ‘This is your dad, I’m not going to change, I’ll always be here for you’.

“I said that to my wife, ‘I’m your best friend, I’ll always look after you, I’ll always look out for you.'”

He also clarified that he hadn’t explicitly told Princess Diana about his sexuality, as reported, however, he believes that she knew anyway.

Paul shared: “I never had that conversation with her, I was never explicit, I was a great source of what to wear and when to wear it, I did great flower arrangements.

“It didn’t have to be said. I think Diana was a very good judge of character.”

According to reports, Paul and Graham will celebrate their upcoming marriage with a joint stag party in Blackpool before tying the knot at a circus-themed wedding in the Lake District.