I’m A Celebrity star Reverend Richard Coles, who came in third place on the ITV programme, paid tribute to his late husband on what would have been his 48th birthday
I’m A Celebrity star Reverend Richard Coles paid tribute to his late husband, David, on what would have been his birthday.
Reverend Richard, who recently came in third place on the ITV programme, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share a sweet message on David’s birthday. The vicar, who is set to enter the ITV camp tonight, was left struggling in 2019 after the tragic death of his husband David Coles just days before Christmas.
David, also a clergyman, was only 43 when he died of liver disease in 2019, caused by an alcohol addiction that had gripped him since his teenage years. Richard and David started their relationship in 2007. Three years later, the couple got into a civil partnership with David taking Richard’s surname.
On what would have been his 48th birthday, David’s loving husband Reverend Richard shared a picture of him and their dogs. In the picture, David had on a grey facemask and wore black sweatpants and a black long-sleeved top as he stood in front of four excited pups.
Richard simply wrote: “David’s birthday today. He would have been forty eight. RIP.” Fans rushed to the comment section to share their support, with one writing: “Thoughts and prayers with you Richard embrace the time you had together.” Richard previously discussed why he wanted to keep the painful details of his husband’s alcoholism private.
He said: “I often think if someone dies of drink as people used to say, that people filed them under a sort of tragic, squalid death. David was so much more than that. I wanted to get a sense of why David was so important to those who loved him before we got to a discussion of what killed him.”
Richard has since found love again as he shared last year that he was happily coupled up with Dickie Cant who is the son of late actor and Play Away presenter Brian Cant. The pair met on a dating app as Dickie made the first move. Richard revealed that Dickie doesn’t care about fame, and that he in turn doesn’t mind that Dickie is atheist.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, he also addressed the grief and loss after his husband David died following his battle with alcoholism. Richard said: “I’m angry when people speak in a way that means they think you should be over it. It’s not a cold. He also admitted that losing him “messed his f***ing life up.”
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.