Married At First Sight star Jordan Gayle has admitted that he was blindsided by his sudden split from Erica Roberts.
The couple tied the knot in the most recent series of the E4 reality show and remained together until just a few weeks ago, when they came to an amicable decision to separate.
Speaking to The Sun in an in-depth interview, 27-year-old Gayle admitted: "It did seem like a fairytale and in my heart I believed we were going to be together forever, which is why I think it hurts so much now, as I didn't see it coming.
"We fought through everything together, of course people saw us fight on-screen, but the amount of stuff that we fought through as a team on-camera/off-camera - we fought through so much and we were the best team. I didn't think anything would beat us really."
The PT went on to reveal that trying to make their relationship work over a long distance - she lives in Edinburgh, while he is based in Sheffield - ultimately proved fatal, leaving him struggling mentally to come to terms with their split.
"Everything I'm doing right now just feels sad. It's a real challenge mentally to get through this," he continued. "I feel a bit lost and that I don't have a purpose and I need to try and find myself again. It's a real challenge mentally to get through this.
"What you do on social media, people can mistakenly judge that on how you're living your life off-camera - I want people to know I am struggling, there are times I don't want to do anything, there are times I'm literally doing something to take my mind off feeling as shit as I do.
"But the one person you want support from and who has supported you, is the one person I can't. I feel like it's all to fill this void and no matter what you do or the support you get, it doesn't quite fill that void."
Of the 13 different pairings from the last series, only one - Paul Liba and Tasha Jay - are thought to be still together.
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