Danny Cipriani 'hadn’t really cried’ before ex-girlfriend Caroline Flack’s death
Danny Cipriani has opened up about the "visceral feelings" of grief he experienced after his ex-girlfriend Caroline Flack died.
The retired rugby player dated the former Love Island host until May 2019, before she died by suicide in February 2020, aged 40. It's unclear when their romance began.
In an interview, the 37-year-old talked candidly about the lasting impact of Flack’s death calling it "one of the toughest moments" in his life.
"I was devastated," Cipriani told The Times. "I spoke to my team-mates for an hour. I was crying. I stood up at the front and told everyone what I felt shameful about and all the things I was trying to hide, because we all share our pain."
He added: "The gift she gave me was having to dive into my emotions in a way I hadn’t before. I hadn’t really cried or felt visceral feelings before."
Research has found that men often process grief differently to women, such as internalising their feelings, throwing themselves into distractions and being less likely to speak to others about their emotions, according to Cruse Bereavement.
The former rugby union player encouraged people to sit with the "discomfort and pain" of grief, rather than suppress it or try to ignore it, as that’s the only way to move forward.
"You can’t avoid grief," he continued. "When I was trying to run away from emotions or not feel certain things, they would come back up in a different way. So give yourself time to feel the discomfort and pain, and sit with it."
Cipriani’s comments come after other male celebrities have spoken out about their grief for loved ones such as Barry McGuigan and Si King.
On I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, McGuigan broke down in tears as he spoke about his late daughter, Danika who died of bowel cancer.
It left a lasting impression with viewers for his "bravery" as grief often isn’t something that is discussed by men on TV, especially when one third of people in the UK are afraid to talk about their grief, according to Marie Curie, for fears of making others uncomfortable.
Similarly, The Hairy Biker’s Si King has been open about his "struggle" with grief, after losing his best friend Dave Myers to cancer last year.
Cipriani has also said in the past about his mental health and depression: "I’m saying these things out loud so people understand it’s OK to be vulnerable and you can take it any way that you choose, and that is also OK."
It’s important for men especially to open up about their mental health, when suicide is the single largest cause of death for men under 50 in the UK, with approximately 12 men every day dying by suicide.
Flack’s former X-Factor co-star Olly Murs also spoke about the “traumatic experience” of losing his close friend back in 2020.
On tour, Murs dedicated a performance of 'Sweet Caroline' to Flack before he said about his grief: "That whole process for me was so difficult, and I had never been through anything like that before.
"I just want to say, for anyone in the room that is struggling right now or anyone you know is struggling then please give them a call because I really wish that I had been there for Caz."
He added: "I wish that she had called me. I didn’t know how bad it was and if you know someone, please give them a call."
Read more about grief:
This Is How Grieving Actually Impacts Your Brain And Body (Huff Post, 4-min read)
What are the grief stages? Hairy Bikers' Si King talks struggle since Dave Myers' death (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min)
Six ways to navigate parenthood and grief as a young widow or widower (Yahoo Life UK, 7-min read)
