Celebs Go Dating's Jon Lee quit UK for years over boyfriend trauma - 'it put me off'

Jon Lee has been flying solo for six years after a breakup left him heartbroken. Now he's ready to get back into the dating pool.

The S Club star has joined the Celebs Go Dating line-up with a multitude of beloved stars. “I had a bad relationship in the past and that put me off a little bit. Then I went travelling for four years,” Jon Lee says.

“I’ve been down in Cornwall for three years and it’s not exactly the gay capital of the world.” Hoping to rediscover his confidence, Jon joined the agency to face the dating world again.

With friends cheering him on and reminding him love won’t just fall on his lap. “When I got offered to come on the show, my friend said ‘you should do it, because otherwise you’ll never meet anybody,” he says.

Dating coaches Anna Williamson, Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn and Paul C Brunson are also back on screens ready to get celebrities back into dating mode - but Tara lived an emotionally-charged moment with Jon.

“The moment we shared in Ibiza definitely made me tear up off screen, because it's just very, very heavy,” Tara says. “It's nothing you wish on people that are decent humans. His journey of becoming a sexually empowered gay man has been incredible to watch.”

Dr Tara says she’s stepping into the show with confidence. “This is my best season so far in terms of how confident I showed up,” she says. “I feel like I went all in, like 110%.”

That doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing. As the celebrities opened up, some pushed back. “There were some minor uncomfortable moments because of how a certain celeb was talking back a lot,” she says, “However, we found a way to work through it.”

To recover from all the intensity that comes with emotional scenes, the agents practise what they preach. “We do a lot of mindfulness practices after a heavy scene,” she says.

“Anna and I will talk and debrief, and we'll breathe together. Paul has his own coping mechanism, like, he likes to sit and, like, decompress by himself.”

Tara’s own rituals include yoga, pilates - and crystals. “I love collecting crystals,” she says. “I strongly believe they exude a certain energy. I have a big crystal case. I also bring a big bag of different things that I need in the UK.”

She’s even taken to British life. “I love visiting the British countryside,” she says, “I love the Cotswolds. Every weekend I try to visit somewhere like that.”

Paul, on the other hand, was struck by two other celebrities while filming for the programme - Kerry Katona and Too Hot to Handle's Louis Russell.

“There were a few times where someone’s story really hit home and I had to take a step back and process it,” he says. “This process genuinely changed Louis’ life,” Paul teases, “Then there’s Kerry Katona. This journey shows a side of her that most have never seen.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.