Rylan Clark admits 'regret' as he reveals suffering stroke-like symptoms during breakdown after marriage split

Rylan Clark has told how he suffered stroke-like symptoms during his breakdown. The 35-year-old TV and radio star claims to have lost his vision and his hearing following his split from ex-husband Dan Neal in 2021.

The pair met on Big Brother's Bit on the Side - which Rylan was hosting - in 2015 and they became engaged the following year. Rylan and Dan, an ex-Met Police detective, walked down the aisle in 2016 and kept their relationship away from the public eye.

The news of his marriage coming to an end emerged amid Rylan's four-month break from the spotlight and it wasn't until later that he opened up about his struggles during that period. But as speculation began as to why he had pulled out of his show before his split was rumoured, Rylan confirmed the separation in a statement.

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He later returned to work after a four-month break and later, after confirming the extent of his mental health struggles following the end of his marriage, Rylan put pen to paper in a new book, Ten: The Decade That Changed My Future, in which he detailed for the first time the reasons for the end of his marriage, admitting he had cheated "years ago" but only told Dan in 2021.

Rylan - who has now returned to full health - has now spoken more about what happened in the weeks and months that followed, saying on the Great Company with Jamie Laing podcast: "I lost my speech. I lost my vision for a little bit like it was all really just ... it was like having a really bad stroke. It was just so bizarre. And yeah, it took me months to go back to work."

"I think I was off for like four or five months. And I rarely would have like, four hours off, let alone four months. So yeah, it was, I mean ... I needed to do it. And I need to start again. And I needed to reset myself. But the only regret I've got from that is that I wish I'd never stopped and I've just dealt with it in a different way. But I didn't. And then it was out of my control."

Rylan moved in with his mum as his health issues began to spiral. The BBC Radio 2 host also recalled thinking that he was "crazy" and that he "couldn't be trusted".

He explained: "I thought I was crazy. Well, I was, because the only explanation is going to be. I've lost my mind. So when you stop believing something, you become it. So I was like, 'Well, clearly, I'm mad. Clearly, I'm unwell. Clearly, I'm not right.' I was living with my mum at the time because I didn't want to be in my own house. I didn't want to do nothing. I couldn't be trusted, to be perfectly honest. Yeah, it was bad. I just have to be honest."