Ben Cohen emotionally reveals his daughter Isabelle will have to undergo surgery to have a pacemaker fitted after being diagnosed with a heart condition.
In scenes set to air on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, the former rugby player, 47, describes the past 18 months as ‘horrendous’ following his on-off relationship with Kristina Rihanoff and financial troubles.
Ben admits he is trying to be a ‘pillar of strength’ for his daughters. The athlete is father to twins Isabelle and Harriet from his 13-year marriage to Abby Cohen and Milena, nine, with Kristina.
During tense interrogation scenes, the rugby star speaks out about what has been going on with his life.
‘It’s been horrendous. Izzy is having a pacemaker fitted and it’s a lot to process,’ he says – according to The Sun.
‘How do you deal with it? You be strong for your daughter, you have to be that pillar of strength. That’s when the self-neglect comes in because you prioritise other things before yourself.’
Ben Cohen emotionally reveals his daughter Isabelle will have to undergo surgery to have a pacemaker fitted after being diagnosed with a heart condition
Ben admits he is trying to be a ‘pillar of strength’ for his daughters. The athlete is father to twins Isabelle and Harriet from his 13-year marriage to Abby Cohen and Milena, nine
Ben doesn’t reveal what Isabelle’s heart condition is. A pacemaker is a small, implanted electronic device that regulates your heartbeat by sending electrical impulses to your heart, preventing it from beating too slowly or irregularly, and improving quality of life for people with abnormal heart rhythms.
During the show, Ben is said to write a heartfelt letter to Isabelle where he applauds the teenager for her bravery since her diagnosis.
He adds: ‘There’s so much going on in my life personally, in so many different areas, when you get to this point it almost takes the f*****g lid off the can and all those emotions swirl with each other.
‘There has been a lot of horrible stuff happening in my life and you don’t realise what is going to come back and get you a little bit later.’
While Ben admits he often hides his emotions, SAS officer Billy Billingham soon sees past it and says taking part in the gruelling challenge is like putting a ‘band aid over a f*****g gun shot wound’.
The former Strictly star also opens up about the death of his father, Peter Cohen, the brother of 1966 World Cup-winner George. Ben says it left a ‘hole’ in his life.
Peter died from a blood clot a month after he was beaten up in his own nightclub in Northampton when attempting to break up a brawl in 2000. His three attackers were jailed for violent disorder.
Ben’s stint in Channel 4’s Celebrity SAS comes after it was reported he had rekindled his relationship with Kristina.
In scenes set to air on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, the former rugby player, 47, describes the past 18 months as ‘horrendous’ following his on-off relationship with Kristina Rihanoff
The former Strictly star opens up about the death of his father, Peter Cohen, the brother of 1966 World Cup-winner George. Ben says it left a ‘hole’ in his life
Ben is taking part in the latest series of Celeb SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4
A source told the publication: ‘They’ve decided to give things another go. They looked very much in love.’
They were said to have poured everything they had into a yoga studio and fitness business and were severely impacted by Covid.
The extent of the couple’s struggles were laid bare in unusual circumstances – during a court appearance in 2024 when professional dancer Kristina was caught driving without insurance.
Giving evidence during the case, England World Cup winning rugby star Ben admitted he had bungled the handling of their car insurance policy and told how he was ‘fighting to save his relationship and home’.
A friend of the couple told the Daily Mail in March: ‘The past six months have been hell for them and it has torn the love they had apart. For the sake of their family, they have chosen to go forward as separate individuals.
‘Those close to them who know them as a couple had hoped they would be able to work things out but for now it’s over and it looks like there’s no going back.’
The couple were left with crippling debts after they ploughed every penny they had into a yoga studio which plunged into crisis during the Covid pandemic.
In a tortuously frank admission Ben told the court: ‘I get up every day and I fight not to lose everything – to lose my cars and my house and my relationship. I’m so overdrawn.’
When questioned about the strains on his and Rihanoff’s relationship, he said: ‘We’re still living together. We’re in it financially.
He added: ‘We’re in business together so the problem is that we opened the business before Covid and we got the worst severities of it and in all honestly this is just another problem for me to deal with.
‘I’ve got credit cards that are overdrawn. I’m overdrawn in both accounts. We have got a business debt because of Covid. It’s just another problem.’
MailOnline was given an insight into the struggles during an interview with the couple in May 2021.
They started Soo Yoga Group together in June 2017 – four years after falling for each other when they partnered on the 11th series of the hit BBC show.
Companies House records showed that the Soo Yoga Group Ltd was £488,470 in the red in its last submitted set of accounts for the year ending on July 31, 2022.
The company was facing being struck off and Cohen has since resigned as a director leaving Rihanoff as its sole director – while other companies linked to the couple were also in difficulties.
It was not long before the couple had put their £1.75million five-bedroom home in Sywell, Northamptonshire, where they had lived since 2016 on the market.
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is on Channel 4 on Sunday and is also available to stream.
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