Chantelle: 'I still love Preston and kiss him goodnight'

Celebrity Big Brother star Chantelle Houghton who split from husband Preston, who she met on the reality television show, said she still loves him "as much as the day I married him".

Chantelle said: "We're still in love with each other, and that hurts so much because it just didn't work out."

The couple met on the show in January 2006. They announced their engagement in April and tied the knot last August in a lavish ceremony covered by a glossy magazine.

Tearful throughout the interview, Chantelle said: "It hurts me to think that people think my marriage wasn't real.

"I shared a bed with him, I did things with him that you wouldn't do if it was a publicity stunt."

The Essex-born former Paris Hilton lookalike revealed that moving away from her family to live in Brighton following her fairytale marriage last August, was the main factor that led to the premature breakdown of her relationship.

She said: "I found living in Brighton very hard...I had no family, no friends and it was a really hard time for me."

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In contrast her singer husband Preston had plenty of friends in the city, and Chantelle, left at home, while Preston was out partying was left feeling increasingly isolated without close contact with her family and friends.

Reports that their marriage was in trouble were dismissed by the couple as "lies", however Chantelle admits "things were not great back then".

Chantelle blamed their self-imposed pressure to be "this perfect couple" for their marriage troubles. And coming so soon in their short marriage, they were reluctant to prove to those that said it wouldn't last, right.

The split finally came following another argument when the couple admitted to each other they had had enough.

Chantelle insists it was a mutual decision, she said: "We both said, we can't do this any more, we can't go on hurting each other like this."

The couple are still living together, but Chantelle has decamped to her mother's Essex-home for a while. However she tells the magazine she is 'desperate' to see Preston, and he is looking forward to seeing her too.

The reality television star who walked away the winner of the celebrity version of the Channel 4 star dismissed claims that the stress of her dwindling career were a factor in the split, and confirmed she has two shows for ITV launching this summer.

Chantelle and Preston met on the reality show last year and wed following a whirlwind romance.

They said their decision to end their marriage came after "much soul-searching and tearful discussions".

The couple said in a joint statement: "We hope we can always remain friends and still love each other but we both think we put so much pressure on one another to make our marriage work that it has ended up destroying our relationship. No-one else is involved in our decision."