Chris Hughes says his split with Jesy Nelson left him struggling with his mental health.
Chris Hughes
The 'Love Island' star's relationship with the former Little Mix singer came to an end after 16 months in April 2020 and Chris has revealed that his life "became a s***storm" as they split amid the UK's first coronavirus lockdown.
He said: "It was a tough period in a lot of people's personal lives and it was for me too, as break-ups are never easy.
"It was difficult. There have definitely been days when I wake up and things haven't felt great.
"The period 12 months ago was really tough. There where days when I was waking up and our split was the first thing I was thinking about.
"I was thinking, 'I hope I feel good today. I hope mentally I feel all right'. I had to try my hardest mentally to break the cycle."
Chris added: "Life was a s***storm."
A year on from their break-up, Chris explained that he and Jesy - who left Little Mix last year due to the "constant pressure" of being a girlband member - remain close.
He told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "We're very good friends and we enjoyed all that time together. I look back and don't look at anything with regret.
"We still support each other and it was just a period in life where you move on.
"But it's nice to look back on the good memories of my relationships with Jesy and there were plenty of good times. There's no reason not to like each other."
Chris also explained that he is "very much single" at this moment in time and hopes to start dating face-to-face once lockdown is eased.
He said: “I’m very much single at the moment. I’ve been using an online dating app called Happn but because of the restrictions at the moment I haven’t been able to meet anyone.
"Hopefully when we come out of lockdown I’ll be able to go on some actual old-fashioned face-to-face dates like we used to do."
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