Rylan Clark-Neal has broken his silence on why he abruptly flew home from the Eurovision Song Contest in May.
The television star, 29, cited “unforeseen circumstances” at the time but has now revealed his husband, Dan Neal, fell ill and he wanted to be with him in the UK.
In an interview with The Sun, Rylan said: “When I found out Dan was ill I didn’t say anything to anyone. I just went on my phone, booked my flight and then explained, ‘I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to go home.'”
He added: “Everyone got it because I wasn’t going to do that lightly. I went back to sort everything that needed to be sorted out.”
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Rylan said he wouldn’t disclose the nature of Dan’s illness but that he’s thankfully now okay.
The former X Factor contestant had landed his dream job working on Eurovision 2018 alongside Graham Norton, and had commentated with BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills on the two live semi-finals from Lisbon.
But he withdrew from the programme’s commentary team shortly before the final, sending his luck to the UK’s entry SuRie and thanking fans for their support.
At the time, he said: “Due to unforeseen circumstances having to fly back to the UK and will miss the final. GOOD LUCK to all delegations it’s been a pleasure meeting you all and most of all good luck to our girl @surieofficial.”
Rylan later added: “All okay. Thanks for all your messages. Thanks to the lovely two girls at the airport. You absolute diamonds for letting me sit with yous. No dramas or anything.”
Rylan and former Big Brother contestant Dan married in Essex in 2015.
They had a string of celebrity guests in attendance including Katie Price, Emma and Matt Willis, Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford and Claire Richards.
Rylan shunned the celebrity tradition of selling his wedding photos, saying he and Dan had wanted the day to be private.
He explained on This Morning: “We had the best day. Our family and friends were just amazing. And it was so nice that we managed to keep it as private as we did.
“We could have put the photos in a magazine. We thought about it but we thought, do you know what? We’ll just come on here! It’s like my second home.”
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Rylan’s been stepping in for This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield while they enjoy their summer break, and returns to late-night TV next week when Celebrity Big Brother’s new series kicks off on Channel 5.
He’s back to host spinoff show, Big Brother’s Bit On The Side.
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