Saira Khan is no longer a practising Muslim.
Saira Khan
The 50-year-old former 'Loose Women' star - who is of Pakistani heritage - revealed she "pretended to be someone I'm not" to make her family happy and said she was worried about publicly renouncing Islam due to fears of death threats.
Saira wrote in her column for The Sunday Mirror: "People assume that because we have Muslim parents we are practising Muslims, that we have read the Quran, that we fast every Ramadan, that we don't drink, that we don’t have sex before marriage.
"Saying I'm Muslim and then having a boyfriend behind closed doors, wearing clothes that go against the Muslim dress code, having a cheeky drink and living a non-Muslim life only brings guilt, self-loathing, loneliness and a feeling of being caged."
Saira revealed she decided to go public with her decision after being targeted by a "troll" on social media.
She said: "This week I received a disgusting message from a troll, which made me think it’s high time I came out of the closet to proclaim that I am not a practising Muslim. It has taken me till the age of 50 to find the courage to say it.
"I’m doing it now for my own wellbeing. I want to be honest and feel free to live my life by my own rules.
"I feel that by saying this as a public figure, I will no longer inadvertently confuse or unintentionally hurt others of the Muslim faith. I must be clear that I do not represent any Muslim communities – especially Muslim women."
And Saira admitted she struggled with her true feelings for some time.
She said: "When you have no passion or conviction for what is expected of you, no matter how hard you try, your true feelings will rise to the top and you will have to deal with them.
"I’ve not dared to share these feelings before because the very few Muslim women who have already made the admission are called sinful and some have even been targeted with death threats.
"But as a 50-year-old educated, independent woman with my own family and life experiences, I now have the courage to say that I’m not practising."