Candice Brown's husband Liam Macauley has opened about the reason behind their split a day after the Mirror revealed the couple had separated after just two years of marriage.
Breaking his silence on the sad news, Liam confirmed to the Mail Online: "There was nobody else involved. We have just sadly decided it wasn't working."
Liam explained that he had struggled to adjust to his partner's new celebrity lifestyle after she rose to fame as a contestant on the Great British Bake Off in 2016.
The tree surgeon said he fell under the strain of 'immense pressure' that wasn't helped by a photograph that emerged of Candice and Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood looking cosy at a showbiz party.
Days after Liam proposed, Candice was pictured receiving a kiss from Paul as they said goodbye to each other at the Pride of Britain Awards in 2017.
Recalling the drama at the time, Liam said: "I'd not long asked Candice to marry me and I had to read reports that my new fiancée was seen kissing Hollywood and getting close to him.
"That was just a kiss on her cheek and there was nothing else to it. But we had only been engaged a few days. It was a lot to have to deal with," he explained.
Following a series of long discussions, Liam said he and and Candice felt ending their two year marriage was the right decision for them.
He also revealed that following the split he's moved out of the flat they shared above their pub in Bedfordshire and jetted off to Greece for a holiday.
But despite the break-up, Liam said he has nothing but kind words for Candice who he described as a 'lovely woman' and 'wonderful human being.'
The pair first met in 2012 when Candice was working in a bar and Liam studying at university.
Five years later romantic Liam popped the question in the supermarket car park where they stopped by on their very first date.
They tied the knot at a chateau in France in September 2018.
Candice previously told how her relationship with Liam had been 'tested' early on but her beau 'didn't budge.'
"I wasn’t very well, and following that I struggled with some mental health issues.
"It’s not something I really talk about... but Liam stayed by my side and that has always stuck with me.”
Candice added she savoured the quality time with the man she described as “my biggest cheerleader”.
She said: “I know I’m very lucky. I adore him, he adores me, we’re best friends and we always will be.”
Liam has now moved back to Ampthill, Beds, where the couple lived previously. It is about three miles from the pub, which Candice, 35, runs with her brother.
