Charlie King hit rock bottom after Gemma Collins split and before coming out as gay

Charlie King struggled to see the point in life and look forward to the future before he came out as gay.

Former The Only Way Is Essex star Charlie revealed he is homosexual live on This Morning last month despite his televised relationship with fellow TOWIE cast member Gemma Collins.

But the aspiring television presenter admits he wasn’t being true to himself or those around him, leaving him depressed and at rock bottom.

He told aTEEN: “I had plunged myself into my own catering business to keep me away from people and would work until I was so tired that I could go home, sleep, and walk the dogs and go back to work.

“I found myself feeling very empty, I was driving a beautiful car, wearing lovely clothes but actually not having friends to share it with, no social life and everything I thought I had wanted was exactly what I didn’t want.

“I would ask why am I struggling inside so much, why am I so lost and why is it I have so many blessings but am so unhappy? What is my purpose? Was there any point in living?”

Charlie played out his relationship with Gemma on TOWIE but the romance soon fizzled out.

He admits his heart wasn’t in his union with the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! campmate as he still wasn’t comfortable with himself.

He said: “Gemma was someone who I really did like – I found myself drawn to her as a person. I dated her because I thought at that time it was what I wanted to do.

“I guess looking back I can see how it looks now – she wasn’t going to want to jump into bed right away, not did I think she would pressure me to do so.

“We didn’t click and I guess deep down my struggles with identifying who I am were lurking in the distance.”

GALLERY: Charlie's ex Gemma and the rest of her I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of here! campmates