Calum Best vows to overhaul ‘playboy lothario’ image and settle down with a family
CALUM Best has vowed to overhaul his image as “a playboy lothario” and is desperate to settle down with a family.
The reality star has signed up to the latest series of Celebs Go Dating in a bid to change the public's perception of him, the Sun’s Bizarre column can reveal.
He opened up about his iconic footballer dad George saying he would love to be like him but vowed to curb his own drinking.
Calum, 36, said: “I’ve got to keep this legacy going.
“I want to find someone special and definitely create a family - it just depends when, who and how.”
The Celebrity Love Island star says he struggles to find women who he can settle down and spend more time with.
His former flames include Playboy model Lindsey Pelas, Love Island's Jessica Shears, Towie's Chloe Sims, Lindsay Lohan, Bianca Gascoigne, Georgia Salpa, Sarah Harding, Jodie Marsh, Caprice Bourret and Real Housewife Brandi Glanville
Calum said: “The tricky thing for me is I've been dating in the public eye since I was 19-years-old and people are like 'well why haven't you found her yet?’
“It's rare I find someone that I want to commit and spend some time with.
“Not in an arrogant way - it's not because I can't find any dates, not because I'm struggling to go on dates, it's because I'm finding someone to commit to.”
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES A brief history of Calum Best’s love life – from Bianca Gascoigne to Sarah Harding, and everyone in between
Calum told the Sun he would love to be like his "iconic" Northern Ireland international footballer dad.
But he says he would never go down the route of alcoholism as he is so healthy.
He admits he nearly ended up like George when he died aged 59 in 2005 - from a lung infection and multiple organ failure as a result of his excess drinking - and hit the booze as he was in a "dark place".
The Celebrity Big Brother star said: “In many ways I'd love to be my dad - the guy was an iconic figure.
“I think where I messed up a bit in my youth was I chose to do something similar that I knew could do and that was party.
“I'm never going to be an alcoholic. I enjoy a drink, but I know, I see it, I monitor it but I know I'm all good. I drink more protein shakes than I do alcohol drinks.
“I just launched a book about healthy living. So I'm on a different page in that respect.
“I think because I partied so much in my youth it takes so f*****g long to clear up that stuff.
"From 29 to 36 I've tried to get away from that. I still enjoy myself, I still indulge. But at one point I was out every night.
“When I lost my old man I was in a dark place and I partied hard but I had to check myself. My mum came back from the US and that was a big turning point in my life."
Celebs Go Dating begins on September 4 on E4.
