Rylan Clark has opened up about his personal struggles following his divorce from ex-husband Dan Neal three years ago, admitting that he “felt like a failure” at the time
This Morning’s Rylan Clark shares sad emotional struggle post-divorce with Dan Neal(Image: @rylan/Instagram)
Former X-Factor star Rylan Clark has opened up about the devastating period he went through after his divorce three years ago, revealing he “felt like a failure.” The presenter shot to stardom after defying expectations to reach the X Factor quarter-finals in 2012, before cementing his celebrity status on Celebrity Big Brother.
More recently, his television venture Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour became an instant hit when it launched in 2024, with Rylan becoming visibly emotional after the programme scooped the 2025 British Academy Television Award for Best Factual Entertainment earlier this year.
Despite his ongoing professional triumphs – which include regular appearances co-hosting ITV’s This Morning and presenting BBC Radio 2’s Rylan on Saturday – the star revealed his personal battles during his podcast How to Be in Love whilst speaking with guest Tasha Ghouri about her break up with Andrew Le Page.
The pair first met in 2013(Image: Mark Robert Milan, FilmMagicvia Getty Images)
He reflected particularly on the difficult period following his split from former husband Dan Neal in 2021 during the candid conversation.
In a raw moment of honesty, Rylan revealed the emotional devastation he experienced when news of their divorce became public: “When I went through my divorce, I had a full-on breakdown because it wasn’t just us. It felt like it wasn’t just us, even though it was just me and my ex. I felt that everyone’s going to think this of me.”
He admitted: “Everyone’s going to think, ‘Oh look, his life isn’t perfect. Oh look, he’s failed like that.’ I just felt like a failure.” Despite sharing his sentiments on the tough split, he conceded that parting ways was the “right thing to happen.”
Rylan and Dan’s relationship came to an end in 2021 after almost six years together(Image: Kate Green, Getty Images)
The love story between Rylan and Dan began quite unexpectedly in 2013 when they crossed paths on Big Brother’s Bit on the Side; Rylan was the host while Dan was competing in the main show.
They got engaged in 2014 and tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Braxted Park Estate in Essex, with a guest list that read like a who’s who of celebrities, including Katie Price, Eamonn Holmes, Ruth Langsford, and Matt and Emma Willis.
Sadly, after almost six years of marriage, the couple announced their separation in June 2021. Rylan has been open about the trauma of the divorce, including the emotional pain and physical toll it took on him. He has discussed the period of breakdown in his memoir “TEN: The Decade That Changed My Future”.
Rylan has also addressed speculation about a romantic relationship with Rob Rinder, his co-presenter on the show “Strictly: It Takes Two”. He clarified that they are close friends but not romantically involved, likening their relationship to that of a married couple.
