Rylan Clark has shared a never seen before message from Caroline Flack in a tear-jerking clip shared to Instagram.
Rylan is a household name these days, meaning some may have forgotten his humble X Factor begins, where he rubbed shoulders with the late Caroline Flack and Xtra Factor co-star Olly Murs.
Now, Rylan is looking back on his rise to fame in 2012, by thumbing through his X Factor memory box, which included a sweet note from Caroline, who tragically took her own life in 2020.
Rylan Clark shares heartfelt message from Caroline Flack
The star took to social media yesterday, August 23, to show off some sweet memories from his past, including a message from former Xtra Factor stars Caroline and Olly.
An emotional Rylan flashed The X Factor branded card and fought back tears as he read his followers the message shared by Caroline and Olly.
Rylan exclaimed: “Oh my god, I am going to cry,” before he read out Caroline and Olly’s thoughtful words. Rylan read: “Rylan massive congratulations on making it through to the live shows. Here is a gift to welcome you to your new home. It is a lemon tree and yes we want to see your lemons by the end of the series.
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“Lots of love Caroline and Olly from the Xtra Factor,” he added: “That’s really cute, oh my God that’s going to set me off.”
Caroline died at the age of just 40. A lawyer for her family later confirmed she had taken her own life, according to reports.
Rylan was presenting his radio show at the time and later apologised for his behaviour in the aftermath of hearing such tragic news. He tweeted at the time: “Apologies for the last 15 mins of my show. I’d been informed of the news and was and still am in complete shock. Gutted. So sad. Sleep well Flack x.”
Rylan Clark’s viral X Factor moment
Rylan went viral during his time on The X Factor due to his dramatic reaction to making it through to the live shows, as announced by Nicole Scherzinger.
He has since explained that Caroline, booze and hangxiety triggered his emotional outburst where he sobbed in Nicole’s lap.
Detailing a stressful time filled with vodka, sweltering heat and concerns for his spot on the show whilst at the judges houses in Dubai, Rylan admitted he partied the night away and was overcome with nerves before facing Nicole.
It was here that Caroline supposedly comforted Rylan – but appeared to give him the wrong information about his TV fate.
He explained the moment on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast: “So I’m standing by the door ready to receive my fate. And obviously, I mean, me and Caroline have got a bit of a relationship at this point. So I’m like, ‘The cameras are over there, not on us. I’m going home, right?’
“She smiles, closes her eyes and just nods. And I remember grabbing her by the waist and squeezing her and saying ‘I really appreciate you letting me know.'”
“So I walk in, go into the room. By this point the hangover’s really kicking in,” he continued. “So I can just feel myself getting emotional. I’m thinking it’s the end of the journey.”
Obviously, this was not the end of Rylan’s journey and in fact Nicole did put him through to the live shows – cue the waterworks!
“Everyone thought my reaction was fake,” Rylan admitted. “But I was like, ‘What? What?!’
“And then just the floodgates.. I cried vodka. I cried pure vodka into Nicole’s lap. Honestly, we could have opened a bar. It was awful.”
Read more: Rylan Clark on the vital role he played in helping X Factor’s Lucy Spraggan’s rapist get convicted
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