Rylan Clark reveals how he recovered from mental health breakdown after divorce with husband Dan Neal

Singer and TV personality Rylan Clark has been reflecting on his mental health recovery - in the wake of his split with his ex-husband.

The former X Factor contestant, 35, separated with his partner Dan Neal in 2021 and in the aftermath suffered a mental health breakdown. He has now compared his recovery to being akin to a stroke, in that he ended up having to learn how to walk and talk again.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Clark admitted he had "lost what I thought was everything".

He said: "I couldn’t understand why I pressed the nuclear button on my seemingly perfect life. It’s only now I’m better that I realise it was the ejector seat I needed. Now I just wish I’d pressed that escape button earlier.

"I got so ill to the point where I knew I couldn’t get any iller. I couldn’t speak; I had to learn to speak again, I had to learn to move again - it was like I’d had a stroke. Nothing made sense to me.

"'What’s the point?' I thought. I’d lost what I thought was everything, the one thing I always wanted. A man I loved. A family of my own. And now it was gone."

The relationship broke down after Clark cheated on his ex, which brought an end to their six-year marriage. He said he had times where he "felt a bit like an impostor" which contributed to everything that happened.