Dr Ranj Singh’s ex-wife, Sulvinder Samra, has broken her silence over the “painful” divorce she went through after Ranj revealed he was gay and wanted to date men
10:13, 29 May 2026Updated 11:02, 29 May 2026
Sulvinder and Ranj met in 2003 and dated for a year before getting engaged(Image: Facebook)
Dr Ranj Singh’s ex-wife has spoken for the first time about their “messy” divorce. Sulvinder Samra had been married to Dr Ranj for seven years before the This Morning doctor came out as gay.
He told her he wanted to leave their marriage to start relationships with men in 2011, leaving her devastated. Now, Sulvinder has opened up for the first time about how her life was turned upside down.
In a heart-breaking Instagram post, Sulvinder shared a montage of photos from their marriage as she marked what would have been her 20th anniversary.
Sulvinder shared a sad update(Image: sulvindersamra/Instagram )
She posted to Instagram(Image: sulvindersamra/Instagram )
She shared: “I thought my life would go as planned… Work hard. Get a degree. Get a job. Find a partner. Get married. Have kids. Instead I had a messy and painful divorce.”
Sharing her side of the story, Sulvinder said it took her years to heal and for a long time felt ‘unattractive, ashamed, and not good enough’.
Sulvinder revealed that she ‘carried the beliefs from a failed marriage’ and struggled to trust anyone in her life.
“I could not trust anyone. I did not trust myself. I believed I wouldn’t be a good mum, I’m not good at relationships, I did not deserve any happiness,” she said.
As a result of not finding a partner, Sulvinder gave her up her dream of being a mum. “I accepted that I would only be an aunt. That having children was not my future’.
“It was a strict upbringing and the responsibility felt heavy. I saw university as an escape route. After some rebellion, I graduated, got a job as a Pharmacist, met my future husband and started married life.”
Dr Ranj recently shared his story(Image: BBC Morning Live)
Recalling her marriage with the TV star she said it “was not easy”, explaining the cracks started to show. “What I will say is there is not a lonelier feeling than feeling alone in a marriage. When it ended, both parties were hurting, and a divorce was the only option.”
She explained how she “mourned”, calling it “heavy because the future I thought I had was gone and the person that I thought I had married was gone as well”.
Sulvinder continued: “I questioned everything. I felt extremely unattractive. I was ashamed. I believed I was not good enough.”
Dr Ranj is in a relationship with podcast host James Colebrook(Image: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
She was open in her posts on social media(Image: sulvindersamra/Instagram )
The former couple met in 2003 and dated for around a year before getting engaged. They walked down the aisle in 2005, before going their separate ways in 2011. 12 years on from their divorce Sulvinder ‘took a leap of faith’ by quitting her job as a pharmacist.
She then retrained as a nervous system coach – a wellness professional who helps clients regulate their autonomic nervous system to reduce chronic stress, heal trauma, and build resilience.
Days earlier, Dr Ranj said: “I was married and obviously that relationship broke down and then it was dealing with everybody else, friends and family. It happened when I’d got to where I was thought I was supposed to be.”
Dr Ranj has been open about his sexuality in recent years(Image: ITV)
Speaking to the Big Issue, he added: “I had the career I’d always wanted, I always wanted a home of my own. I’d ticked all my boxes.
“So the big question was, why am I still not 100 per cent happy? Why does it still feel like something’s not right? And that’s when therapy brought all of that stuff out…
“This perfect life that you’ve imagined and hoped for and dreamt of and worked towards isn’t your perfect like.”
After calling time on his marriage, Dr Ranj said he received the support of family and friends. His former father-in-law spoke about their split in an interview with the Daily Mail in 2018, shedding light on the “devastating impact” the divorce had on his family.
“A lot of years have passed but whenever I see him on television I either turn it off, switch channels or just walk out of the room. He still brings back a lot of painful memories for me,” Sulvinder’s dad told the outlet.
“The marriage and why they divorced had a devastating impact on us all. We never expected anything like this would happen and if I’m being honest, it’s something that is still a little difficult for me. I have obviously accepted it but it’s still hard.”
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