Reverend Richard Coles has revealed he lied to the church about his celibacy while married to his late husband.
In an interview with The timesThe former Communards star and famous former clergyman said of his relationship with the church: “Sometimes I felt like I was in the resistance and they were the Gestapo.”
Coles, 61, who recently lost her mother Elizabeth, was married to Anglican priest David Oldham for nine years before Oldham’s death from alcoholism in 2019.
Writer and broadcaster Coles, currently on tour with his show Borderline National Trinket, has written a memoir. The Madness of Grief, about living with someone mired in alcohol addiction and the period of “crippling” sadness that followed.
In the article published this week, Coles revealed why he chose not to be truthful while working for the church, saying he felt his former employers had “There’s no moral cause, so I didn’t feel like I had any moral obligation.”
The famous former clergyman (right) lost his partner David Oldham in 2019; The couple married in 2010 before Oldham’s death from alcoholism. Coles told the Times he wasn’t sincere about being celibate.
Coles, who retired from his role as vicar at Finedon, near Peterborough, in April 2022, said he felt he had “no moral obligation” to be honest with the church about his private life.
Coles, who was vicar of St Mary the Virgin Church in Finedon, near Peterborough, from 2011 until April 2022, when he retired, added: “I am not the first person to be forced to lie for institutional reasons in the Church.” from England.’
The former pop star, who presented BBC Radio’s Saturday Live for 12 years before leaving the show last year, said that while church attendance is declining, those who remain are often more conservative in their views. .
He said: “The big number is that of a precipitous decline (of the church), but within that decline there are areas of dynamism and they often tend to be very conservative people.”
Richard revealed in 2023 that she found love again with actor Dickie Cant, 58 (pictured in 2019), about three and a half years after her husband died.
The broadcaster, who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, announced earlier this month that his mother Elizabeth had died.
Coles is currently dating actor Dickie Cant, 58, son of Brian Cant, who presented children’s TV shows such as Playschool and Dappledown Farm in the 1960s and 1970s.
Coles met Dickie on the Elite Singles dating site and the pair hit it off immediately, with Coles suggesting that marriage could soon be on the cards, telling The Times that he could “imagine it going that direction”. The 58-year-old actor, from Kent, has starred in Mary Queen of Scots, Stan & Ollie and Doctor Who.
The famous clergyman took to Twitter on Friday night and shared a photo of his mother laughing on their wedding day as she revealed the sad news.
Earlier this month, Coles told X, formerly Twitter, that his mother had died.
Sharing a photo of her, she wrote: ‘Mom died last night. Here she is, on her wedding day, laughing. No mama’s boy (hello) could have wanted more. RIP’
Before her husband’s death, the couple lived with their dogs Daisy, Pongo, Audrey and Horatio at St Mary’s Vicarage.
They met after David approached Richard for advice on joining the clergy and soon developed romantic feelings for each other, but remained in a celibate relationship.
Oldham’s death in December 2019 shocked parishioners as he kept his fragile health private while battling illness for more than a year.
David, who became increasingly ill with liver disease, was determined to keep the drinking problem that ultimately killed him a secret; However, there were public outbursts, including one involving the police.
After David’s death, Reverend Richard explained how he had asked his partner’s family for permission to share his experiences of life with an addict, in the hope of helping others in the same situation.
The star admitted last June that she thought she was “out of the game” following the death of her beloved husband.
Speaking about Lorraine, he said: ‘I wanted to meet someone who had been on the block and wanted to share a life with someone. I thought I was out of the game when David died.
He revealed that losing David and getting back into the dating game made him feel like “a polar bear coming out of hibernation and looking for a seal,” however, using a dating app helped him gain confidence and find love once further.
Reverend Richard retired from the clergy a year ago because he could not excuse how the Church of England “does not treat people fairly” regarding its position on homosexuality.