Jon Lee's mum feared he was dead after S Club singer 'went missing' for two years

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Former S Club 7 star emotionally opened up about his father's death during tonight's Celebs Go Dating, and how he didn't speak to his mum for two years while he was grieving
It was former S Club 7 star Jon Lee who became emotional during tonight's episode of Celebs Go Dating, as he opened up about his father's tragic death.
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Jon's sadly lost his father in 2014, after he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. The star, who was very close to his dad, told dating experts Anna Williamson and Dr Tara that he "lost the plot" after his fathers death.
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Opening up to the agents in Ibiza, the star opened up about how his dad had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease at the same time he found out his boyfriend had been unfaithful the entire time they were together.
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"I had an emotional slap from this relationship, and then that happened. And I hadn't quite recovered myself from that, and then that happened as well and everything fell apart."
Opening up further, Jon expressed how close he was to his father, as he was seen tearing up in front of the agents. "Within the first year, he'd completely lost the ability to move, he couldn't speak, he had to be fed through a tube in his stomach. He couldn't talk to me. To go out like that, I literally lost the plot. I thought, 'What the f**k is the point?' It broke my heart.
Explaining on how he dealt with the grief, Jon continued: "I went out, I was taking loads of drugs. I went completely off the rails. That got to a point where I had to make a decision. I had to sort myself out or it wasn't going to end well."
Jon then recalled packing a bag, and never going back to his home. "I wrote to my mum, I sent her my front door key. I wrote her a note saying I don't know where I'm going, I don't know what I'm doing, but I need to sort myself out."
The former popstar then left the country for four years, telling the agents how he didn't even speak to his mum for two of them. "She didn't know where I was. She said every time the phone rang she thought it was going to be the police saying, 'We found Jon and he's dead.' That's my biggest regret, that I caused her..." he said as he broke down in tears.
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Earlier in the conversation, Jon opened up about how he felt he had to hide his sexuality while in the band, and didn't really get to experience dating until they broke up in 2003. Jon was just 15 when the band started, as he told the agents he didn't have an opportunity to figure out who he was in the real world.
Although Jon's S Club 7 bandmades and his family knew he was gay, the star never spoke about it publicly. "Throughout the band, I wasn't comfortable with my sexuality at all, so it would happen when I was drunk," he explained.
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"I didn't feel comfortable enough to be in a relationship until after the band and when I went back into musical theatre," he admitted. "It felt like I was out of the limelight then and no one cared about me anymore. That's when I started my dating life, so I was massively behind and very emotionally immature."
Jon's time in the agency comes after a six year break from dating, as he told the cameras during the first episode that he had been celibate for six years.
In a chat while filming, Dr Tara told the Mirror that Jon was the celebrity that surprised her most in the Agency, and he was set to make a "shocking revelation".
"Jon has had a really interesting journey since S Club and I know a lot of it hasn't been shared anywhere else. It's a really interesting and insightful investigation into what really has been happening in his life since S Club and what he's been doing in the recent years," she told us.
"One of his revelations I was shocked," Tara exclaimed, as she revealed Jon was the celebrity who surprised her the most in the agency. "I thought Jon would come in a lot more guarded but he's not," Tara said. "He's ready to bare it all emotionally and it's a beautiful thing. I've been learning a lot about him already, and I have to say it's a very touching story."