Calum Best has revealed he fell in love for the first time aged forty-four before being rejected, in the latest episode of Rylan: How to Be in Love.
Speaking to Rylan, Calum explained he finally felt he had found what he was looking for. “I was humbled for the first time,” he said. “I met a girl last year and for the first time in my forty-four years I felt this is what I’ve been looking for.
“It was the first time I outwardly said, ‘I love you’ and we spoke about having a kid and a family. Then she thought different. That has humbled me sincerely.”
Calum also shared how his father’s death affected him deeply, saying, “When my old man passed away, I had a real ‘screw everyone’ [attitude]. It was literally shoulders shrugged, closed-off, angry, defensive, don’t care about anybody.
“Some might say it was an excuse but that’s just how I was affected. I wanted to love my old man, and I didn’t always know if it was reciprocated.”
The episode sees him laughing about his ‘lothario’ reputation, recalling how his mum once gave him a framed poster for his birthday that warned people to “keep an eye out for Calum Best!”
Although he admits he was a bit of a lothario back then, he insists it was never with bad intention.
Calum discusses the intense press scrutiny he faced as a young man, including when he was pictured with model Caprice at the GQ Awards twenty-five years ago.
He told Rylan: “I show up, meet Caprice, we went out, there were pictures taken, and I really enjoyed that limelight at the time.”
He also shared a Tube mishap when offering his seat to a woman who replied, “Do I look old or pregnant?” leaving him embarrassed despite only wanting to be polite.
He also reveals that he has recently found love in a stray cat that showed up at his house: “This cat opened me up to love and I know it sounds silly, but I actually say to it ‘I love you’. At forty-four, I’ve not said it to a partner, but I’ve said it to a cat!!”
Meanwhile, Rylan shares his own awkward moment when he was convinced a waiter was flirting with him, only to find out later the man had a wife and kids!
The episode is available on BBC Sounds and in vision on iPlayer from today, 16 July.
