Richard Coles leaves ITV I’m A Celebrity fans in tears with heartbreaking admission about late partner: ‘Bawling’
Richard Coles, 62, has spoken candidly about the death of his partner during a heart-to-heart with fellow campmate Oti Mabuse, 34, during Tuesday’s I’m a Celebrity.
The Church of England priest and the Dancing on Ice judge consoled each other as they shared emotional stories.
Coles and Mabuse, who had both been assigned the chore of cooking for the camp in an earlier episode, took a moment to reflect on their journey so far.
The pair began to bond as Mabuse shared her “traumatic” experience of premature birth. Her daughter, shared with fellow dancer Marius Lepure, was born 28 weeks premature in Autumn last year.
The South African dancer explained to Coles the difficulty of being unable to hold her child, as the baby had to spend six weeks in an incubator.
Coles was moved by Mabuse’s story as the pair hugged, especially as it reminded him of a tender moment with his late partner David.
Coles began: “I remember going once to baptise a little boy, a premature boy, he was born very premature, he was only just alive.
“I just remember he was this tiny little pulse of life, and David got a pipette of water and we blessed it,” the 62-year-old said, holding back tears.
Coles’ partner David, who was also a churchman, died tragically of liver failure during Christmas 2019, aged just 42.
The illness was brought on by David’s troubles with alcoholism, which he had struggled with since his teens.
“I miss him… He’s just left a massive hole in my life and I’m living my life around that loss,” Coles admitted, becoming emotional.
The 62-year-old continued: “I had a dream where he walked in the door and he was just carrying the Co-Op bag… I said to him, ‘I thought you were dead’ and he said, ‘No, I’ve just been out shopping’.”
Coles, laughing, revealed the dream ended with David telling him he’d met someone else and was leaving after dropping the shopping off. The pair continued to chuckle as they embraced again.
Fans were moved to tears by the tender conversation between the pair and took to social media to share their own feelings.
As well as praising Mabuse for her brave candidness, viewers were full of admiration for Coles.
“Superheroes don’t always wear capes. Richard Coles is such a wonderful bloke,” one fan glowed.
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A second said: “I honestly couldn’t love Richard more, he’s just the most beautiful soul.”
“Such a beautiful moment, the Reverend is such a wonderful man,” a third observed.
A fourth enthused: “This is just the sweetest, it had me bawling, such a special moment between Oti & Rev Richard, they’re both such sweet genuine people.” (sic)