ITV I'm A Celebrity's Richard Coles pays tribute to late husband on his birthday

The Reverend Richard Coles has marked a poignant moment on social media, commemorating his late husband David's birthday with an affectionate post. Reverend Richard, who recently secured the third spot on ITV's 'I'm A Celebrity', honoured David's memory on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

The Vicar is gearing up to join the reality TV show's camp tonight, against the backdrop of mourning his beloved partner David, who sadly passed away from liver disease shortly before Christmas in 2019 at the age of 43, following a long struggle with alcohol addiction that began in his teens.

The couple began their journey together back in 2007 and entered into a civil partnership three years later, with David adopting Richard's surname. On the day that would have seen David turn 48, a loving tribute featured a snapshot of him smiling besides their dogs – one where David is casually dressed in a grey face mask, black sweatpants and top, surrounded by their canine companions.

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Accompanying the photo was a succinct and touching caption from Richard: "David's birthday today. He would have been forty eight. RIP."

This heartfelt remembrance sparked a wave of supportive comments from followers, including one particularly comforting message: "Thoughts and prayers with you Richard embrace the time you had together.", reports the Mirror.

Despite his grief, Richard has chosen to keep the harrowing specifics of his husband’s battle with alcoholism out of the public domain. 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****** life up."