Rhian Sugden, 34, who exchanged explicit text messages with the married presenter over a four-month period, claims that he ‘got away with it’ while her career was wrecked
The model caught in the notorious sexting storm with I’m A Celebrity star Vernon Kay has spoken out again, accusing the presenter of “ruining” her life — while he, she claims, simply walked away unscathed.
Mr Kay and Ms Daly’s marriage survived after he apologised on his Radio 1 show. ‘I’ve let down my wife Tess. I’m an idiot. I’ve been stupid and daft but I’m not a sex pest,’ he told listeners
Rhian Sugden, now 34, exchanged explicit messages with the married broadcaster over a four-month period more than a decade ago. She insists that while the scandal devastated her family and wrecked her rising career, Vernon “got away with it”.
Speaking in an interview that aired shortly before Kay, then 46, entered the Welsh castle for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Rhian said:
“It was awful. My whole family must have been so embarrassed. And he just got away with it. It ruined everything for me.”
She added:
“I felt like my career was going up and up — and then that came along. I wish I’d never met him. He got to apologise on the radio and that was it. It still makes me feel physically sick.”
The pair first met in a nightclub two years before the scandal exploded. At the time, Vernon was married to Strictly Come Dancing star Tess Daly, whom he devastated when details of the messages emerged.
Rhian later told Channel 4’s documentary Page Three: The Naked Truth:
“There was an attraction there for both of us. I was a Page 3 girl, he was Vernon Kay — a good-looking bloke. It started when he came to Manchester and then it all snowballed, mostly bravado on text, especially when he’d had a drink.”
Despite the fallout, Vernon and Tess’s marriage survived. On his Radio 1 show, he publicly apologised, telling listeners:
“I’ve let down my wife Tess. I’m an idiot. I’ve been stupid and daft, but I’m not a sex pest.”
In a heartbreaking on-air promise, he said he would never repeat the behaviour, adding that he hoped to “clear the slate and start again”.
Rhian later issued her own open apology to Tess, writing in The Sun:
“I deeply regret creating a friendship with Vernon and allowing him to speak to me the way he did. I should never have got involved with a married man… I can only apologise for my actions and wish you both happiness.”
Years later, claims emerged that Vernon had again contacted Rhian. He admitted sending messages but insisted Tess was aware and that there was “never any inappropriate intent”.
By 2020, ahead of his jungle appearance, Vernon brushed off the controversy, saying:
“It’s all in the past. We’ve moved on.”
But for Rhian, the pain lingers.
“That was 12 years ago,” she said, “and it still makes me feel sick.”
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/