Strictly star heartbroken after tragic death as they say 'never been so lonely'

Everyone goes through highs and lows in life sometimes, and Pete Wicks has opened up about how he's struggled with lonenliness in his life. The former Strictly Come Dancing star is never one to shy away about his friendship with former Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson. The dynamic duo met on the set of Celebs Go Dating back in 2018, and although they didn't find love on the show, they developed a firm friendship which has lasted the test of time.

But before he met Sam, the TV personality, 36, had another best friend who he sadly died at a young age. In an interview with Express.co.uk ahead of his collaboration with Lynx Lower Body Spray, the activist opened up about how he hopes to raise awareness of the importance of friendships later in life.

Speaking about his new podcast Man Made, where Pete interviews stars in the public eye and the struggles that comes with it, he welcomed Jake Humphries onto the show where he admitted that he has never had a best friend.

He revealed: "When it comes to friendships, I think many people do struggle to have best friends. We've got a lot of friends and acquaintances that we do things with, you know talking at the pub or talking about football or whatever.

"But how often do you really ask your friends how they are? And I think women do that so much better, but similarly, it's not just a gender thing." Touching on his friendship with Sam, he gushed: "I think what Jake said is probably true for a lot of people and I think a lot of people listening will probably relate to that.

"I'm incredibly blessed to have a best mate like Sam, also incredibly cursed. Unfortunately, I lost my best friend a few years ago and I've never felt so lonely as I had done having lost her. And actually, having someone like Sam, who is there day in and day out, that's part of why we get on so well, is that we're effectively each other's number one fan.

"And I think that's a really, really special thing. I do realise how blessed and lucky and grateful I am to have someone like Sam because some people don't."

The broadcaster expanded on the loss of his friend days later with a tribute post to her online where he opened up about their friendship and the impact her loss had on him in more detail.

The star added: "I was fortunate to have someone there who was a safety net for me and it wasn't until, you know, I hit 35-years-old that I thought, 'F**k, I used to speak to her every day, she was my best friend. If' I'd have got married while she was still here, she would have been my best man. Point blank."

It comes after Pete Wicks and Chloe Burrows teamed up with Lynx for their new lower body spray. Speaking about the campaign, he gushed: "Smelling good shouldn't stop at your underarms.

"We've got skincare routines and haircare routines - so it makes sense to take the same care with the rest of our body. Lynx creating a product for the lower body shows how much guys' approach to looking - and smelling - good has evolved."