He quietly split from girlfriend Stella Turian in November after a year-long relationship – after they raised eyebrows with their 16-year age gap.
And James Argent, 36, told the My Dirty Laundry Podcasthat, he really struggled on Valentine’s Day because of his single status and had to stay off social media because it depressed him so much.
After facing his demons, staying sober for two years and losing 30 pounds, James said, “I’m in a really good place. Everything in my life is perfect, except my love life. It would be nice if that changed.
“I’ll be completely honest, this year I really struggled on Valentine’s Day. I remember waking up and thinking: I’m not going to look at social media.
“It’s not that I’m heartbroken or upset, but just because I knew it wouldn’t make me feel good because I didn’t have a Valentine, I don’t have a girlfriend .
James Argent, 36, reveals he ‘really struggled’ on a lonely Valentine’s Day after splitting from girlfriend Stella, 19, and admits he had to stay off social media because that it “touched him”, (photographed together in March 2023)
James broke up with Stella, 16 years his junior, in November after a year-long romance and said: “It’s not that I’m heartbroken or upset, but just because I knew the media Socializing wasn’t going to do me any good because I didn’t do it. I don’t have a Valentine, I don’t have a girlfriend.
He told the My Dirty Laundry podcast (pictured): “Everyone was out on dates. There are flowers, there are balloons, there are chocolates, there are dates, trips or happily married couples – and yes, it started to affect me a little.
“But I couldn’t help it. There were times when I would just take a quick look and all you could see was couples. Everyone is madly in love. Everybody is happy.
“Everyone has appointments. There are flowers, balloons, chocolates, dates, trips or happy couples – and yes, it started to affect me a little.
But James said that rather than wallow in misery, he tried to go out to feel better, but a trip to the shops didn’t improve the situation at all.
He said: “I thought I’m going to leave the house and go to a grocery store and I went to my local supermarket and that made it a million times worse, every aisle I looked at Was an in-house Valentine’s Day meal for two…
“It was a starter, main course, dessert and drink for £20. And I was like “oh no”, it just absolutely, it touched me.
“But I went to bed that night, had a good night’s sleep, and the next day I was fine.” I was happy again, I was fine.
“So it just goes to show that you can have good days, you can have bad days, you can have days where you feel a certain way.
“If you sleep well, the next day is always a new day and it wasn’t so bad. For some reason, Valentine’s Day this year I didn’t even think I would mind, but it wasn’t a great experience.
James remained friends with his three ex-girlfriends – he and Gemma Collins split for good in 2019 after an on-off romance for years (2017 photo)
Before that, James was dating Lydia Bright, his former TOWIE co-star – they were childhood sweethearts and dated between 2008 and 2016 and he now considers her one of his best friends (2011 photo).
Arg said that after his past mental health issues, he learned the importance of reaching out to friends and family during difficult times.
He said: “Everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve learned is you just have to talk about it.
“Even if you feel like you’re attention-seeking or stupid, it’s important to me to call my friends or family and tell them how I’m feeling at that moment. So I ‘have done.
“And they made me realize that a lot of these couples are probably secretly arguing behind the scenes and probably aren’t so happy after all.”
Arg said that now he’s in a good place when it comes to his recovery and feels like he’d really like to find “the one.”
He said; “I feel like I could potentially be a good husband and father. So I think provided you meet the right person. I’m actually pretty clean and tidy and take pride in my house.
“But I’m terrible at DIY and that sort of thing. I’m not very good with that sort of thing, I’m not very handy.
Arg said he stayed in touch with his three ex-girlfriends. Stella, 19, Lydia Bright, 33, and Gemma Collins, 43, all remain good friends.
He and Gemma split for good in 2019 after an on-and-off romance for years and he dated Lydia from 2008 to 2016 and considers her one of his best friends.
Revealing why he remained close to the three ladies, he said: “That’s just how it happened for me.
“It’s different from a lot of my friends who, as soon as they go through a breakup, cut ties and never speak to that person again. But with me, it happened differently.
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