RYLAN Clark has opened up in detail about “pressing the nuclear button” on his life and ending his marriage.
The 35-year-old confessed to cheating on his husband Dan Neal in December 2021 after keeping it secret for years.
The pair split and soon after Rylan’s mental health plummeted.
He attempted suicide and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
He told the Guardian: “I got so ill to the point where I knew I couldn’t get any iller.
“I couldn’t speak. I had to learn to speak again, I had to learn to move again. It was like I’d had a stroke. I couldn’t understand anything.
“Nothing made sense to me. I couldn’t have the TV on and I couldn’t listen to music. All I could do was sit in silence. TV and music’s my job! I was f***ed.”
He added: “I couldn’t understand why I pressed the nuclear button on my seemingly perfect life.
“And it’s only now I’m better that I realise it was the ejector seat I needed. Now I just wish I’d pressed that escape button earlier.”
Rylan looks back on his breakdown as the “best thing” that could ever have happened to him.
However, he regrets the “horrendous” hurt he caused his friends and family.
In his memoir Ten: The Decade That Changed My Future, Rylan wrote: “For the first time in my 32 years, I felt I couldn’t carry on no more.
“‘What’s the point?’ I thought. I’d lost what I thought was everything, the one thing I always wanted. A man I loved. A family of my own. And now it was gone.
“So I tried to end it. I won’t go into detail as I don’t think it’s fair on my mum, but thank God I was unsuccessful.”
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
