Amir Khan says I’m A Celeb stint has convinced him his troubled marriage will now ‘last forever’
The love-cheat boxer, 31 – voted out on Friday night - said his I’m A Celeb experience had changed him and vowed to stay faithful to pregnant wife Faryal Makdhoom for good
LOVE-cheat Amir Khan told yesterday how his stint in the jungle had convinced him his troubled marriage would now “last forever”.
Boxing champ Amir – voted out on Friday night - said his I’m A Celeb experience had changed him and vowed to stay faithful to pregnant wife Faryal Makdhoom for good.
In an exclusive interview after he left the show, Amir also told how he had grown close to Georgia ‘Toff’ Toffolo, 22 – red-hot favourite to be crowned Queen of the Jungle in tonight’s final.
And the former world boxing champ spoke glowingly of his unlikely jungle pal Stanely Johnson, 77.
Bolton lad Amir, who turned 31 on the show, said: “Family-wise being in the jungle has made me realise how important they are to me.
“In a weird way being away from them has made me feel closer to them.
Amir looked set to split from stunning Faryal – Mum to their three-year-old daughter Lamaisah – in the run-up to the show as a bitter war of words between them erupted.
But yesterday Amir told The Sun on Sunday: “I definitely have more appreciation for my little girl and my wife Faryal, because I wasn’t around them.
“I was so far away. I missed them like crazy.
“I don’t think we’ll break up again now, we both know how much we need each other. It was a bit of a wake-up call for us both and it will only make us stronger.”
Just weeks ago Amir and Faryal looked set to divorce as their bitter rows were played out on Twitter.
Amir accused her of cheating on him with fellow boxer Anthony Joshua and Faryal hit back saying he had cheated on her.
But three weeks of isolation in the bush has given Amir time to think about her and little Lamaisah.
Amir added: “We didn’t go through with the divorce as it’s void (banned in his Muslim religion) when a girl is pregnant. So it was a lesson, and I think our marriage will last forever now.”
Long-suffering Faryal has forgiven him after he was seen with other women including models Gulbahor Becknazar and Bella Gusamo, who he was pictured with last month.
But Amir is now looking forward to returning to their home in Bolton - and has promised look after Faryal as they prepare for the new baby.
He said: “In the jungle I was worried about how the wife is doing, is she getting her medicals?
“She wrote in her letter from home to me that I have to start making her the vegetable juices that I made her when she was pregnant last time.
“I want to make sure she is eating healthily and that I am feeding her the right nutrients. I am a very caring husband.”
Amir looked emotional as he recalled his first conversation with Faryal since he came out of the jungle.
He said: “I spoke to her on the phone, Lamaisah was asleep, she is happy I am out now and she said, ‘Enjoy your last few days in Australia and I can’t wait to see you.’”
Asked if they would renew their wedding vows, he added: “We don’t do vow renewal in Islam, we didn’t really have the divorce or anything and also it’s void when a girl is pregnant to get divorced. So it was all a lesson, and I think it will last forever now.”
Amir – whose jungle gaffes included not knowing Britain had ever had a female Prime Minister - also told how he grew ‘closest’ to sexy Toff in their spell in the camp.
The pair worked out in the makeshift jungle gym and shared jokes and cosy chats.
Talking about the Made in Chelsea babe, Amir said: “She’s amazing. We became very close, she’s really caring. We had loads of conversations and spoke about the jungle gym and diet.
“I was closest to her out of all the girls.
"She would always give my hammock a little push to make it swing if I was in there, it was nice. I want her to win.”
Amir – at the centre of the show’s notorious ‘Strawberry-gate’ incident – said he had caught up with Boris Johnson’s Dad Stanley since leaving the show.
The pair chatted at the luxurious Versace hotel, where the campmates stay once they are evicted from the jungle.
Amir explained: “He’s a lovely chap, we got on so well.
“He’s so knowledgeable, his stories are great. He was like my best friend.
“He gave good advice and told me to chase my dreams.”
Amir also revealed he had history with Saturdays’ pop singer Vanessa White, 28, confessing they met in a nightclub a decade ago - but insisted nothing happened.
He said: “I spoke to her once or twice before when we met at a friend’s party, it was before I was married. We were just friends. She’s a lovely girl.
“I promised her and some of the other teammates from London I will take them to dinner when we’re back in the UK, it will be my treat.”
Amir now plans to kickstart his boxing career, and win back a world title next year.
After recovering from a hand op, he plans to start training again in January and hopes to be back in the ring as early as March.
Amir said: “In the jungle I had a lot of time to think about my boxing career and how I want to be back in the ring again very soon.
“I’m going to become a world champion again, I need to be smart and make sure I don’t make any mistakes.”
With almost two years out of the ring after his KO loss to Canelo Alvarez, Amir insisted he would be wiser with his decisions.
He said: “I picked fights with people who were wrong for me, like Canelo, he’s too big for me.
I need to fight people who are in my own weight devision.
“Sometimes I think I’m too great for own good. It’s not healthy. I believe in myself to the point where I think I can fight anyone. I think it’s good to have a bit of fear in me.”
After leaving the camp yesterday, he said: “The first thing I did when I got out was have a really hot shower and I used loads of soap and you could see the dirt coming off.
I still smell, I put loads of aftershave on me, but I could smell coal because I was always around the log fire. I’m going to get a pedicure and manicure.
“It was lovely to see my family, my dad and brother are here and it’s been so good to see a familiar face. The campmates had become like family too.”
Amir said of his I’m A Celebrity experience: “It was much harder than I thought it would be. I thought we would be sneaking off to sleep in hotels and if you felt a bit upset the producers would help you out and give you some food. But it was nothing like that.
“I didn’t realise that if we didn’t win trials we didn’t get food and that we would only be on rice and beans.
“I thought because I was scared of snakes and animals they would be easier on me.
“But going in the jungle has made me stronger, I’ve now become tougher as a person.
“I have met different kinds of people like Stanley, I’m a sportsman so I’m not really around actors, like Jennie and Jamie, or singers, like Vanessa.
“I realised we are all the same we respect each other and we’re simple, honest people.”
He said he lost weight, adding: “I lost 15 lbs eating rice and beans, it was a good detox for me. Not eating and the hunger was very tough.
"I would crave a fizzy drink or sweets, but the food they gave us was fruits I’d never heard of or seen in my life.
“It was mad. The food I was eating didn’t give me any energy, I was spiking getting a little bit of energy and then I had nothing again. It was just so hard for me.”
MOST READ IN BIZARRE
Amir said there was one stage when he felt like quitting.
He said: “My lowest point was in the Fright House trial when I was up against Vanessa, Ant and Dec warned that there was going to be a lot of big animals in there so I should be very careful around them. I s**t myself, I was so scared. At that point I nearly quit.
“The only way I was able to hide it was because of my boxing, but inside I was thinking, ‘How am I going to cope and deal with this?”