‘Healthy one day, gone the next’

GMB star Rob Rinder previously revealed his heartbreak after he lost both his dog and his friend in the same week.

The presenter has become a firm favourite with viewers over the years. From stints on the ITV show to The Great Plague with Rob Rinder – which is on today (July 13) – Rob has had an incredible career.

However, in 2022, Rob was left devastated when his dog Rocco and a dear friend passed away.

He opened up about the heartbreaking time (Credit: ITV)

GMB star Robert Rinder on ‘unexpected’ death

In 2022, GMB presenter Robert was faced with a heartbreaking double blow when his beloved French bulldog and dear friend died.

Writing in the Standard, Rob spoke about his “gorgeous” pup Rocco’s passing. He said:  “He was taken from me totally unexpectedly — healthy one day, gone the next — and I was then, and remain, bereft.”

He went on to recall how initially, when he and his ex-husband got Rocco seven years ago he was “pretty opposed to getting him”. However, it didn’t take Robert long to “fall head-over-heels for him”.

Robert’s heartbreak after dog’s death

What’s more, in a sad turn of events, Rob’s friend Lesley Land – a member of the Gogglebox press team – also passed away in the same week that Rocco died.

“The first person I wanted to speak to when I lost him was my spectacular friend Lesley. She was my first WhatsApp message. Rocco adored clever and stunning women, and she was his absolute icon,” Robert said.

She was the type of spectacular person that you didn’t believe existed any more.

He added: “But Lesley Land, one of my finest friends, had died suddenly at the age of 41. She was the type of spectacular person that you didn’t believe existed any more.”

His dog and friend died within the same week (Credit; ITV)

Robert ‘loved them both very much’

Robert gushed about his pal Lesley, and recalled “cry-laughing” after he looked through their WhatsApp messages after she died.

He then reflected on Rocco and Lesley’s passing. He shared that when someone important dies “they leave a perpetual handprint of delight on those of us lucky enough to have known them”.

Rob said: “So I’m thinking of Lesley and Rocco and they are not gone. (I’d imagine he’s sitting on her lap, she’s making some impossibly brilliant joke and he’s looking up adoringly). I loved them both very much.”