Just months after returning home, Mark Wright has confessed he felt "lonely" and "sad" during his two-year stint in Los Angeles. The former TOWIE star left behind his wife Michelle Keegan and his parents in order to chase his Hollywood dream, where he worked as an entertainment reporter for Extra. Speaking on his weekend Heart FM show about a survey on whether money can buy happiness, the radio presenter revealed: "Now I was fortunate enough to get an amazing job in Los Angeles, somewhere where I've always wanted to work, in Hollywood.
Mark Wright felt lonely without his wife Michelle Keegan in LA
"I was living in the hills, Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Hills – life was great, so I thought. Four, five months in, I sat back and I was a bit lonely, I wasn't that happy, and obviously I went there to get a better job and to get more money as we say. And I was without my wife, who wasn't living there because she couldn't and my family weren't there, my mum, my dad, my brothers and sisters, my friends."
READ: Stacey Dooley throws her support behind boyfriend Kevin Clifton after Strictly elimination
Recalling his experience of living in America alone, Mark added: "I can't tell you how much I missed the normal things just sitting down the pub, the rain hitting the windows, the things we moaned about before I went and how lonely I felt and how sad I felt and that was all because I was chasing the money basically.
"And I can tell you know from first-hand money doesn’t buy happiness. The reason why I like to talk about this is because I feel so passionate about it because there's something to be said in just having security, having a roof above your head, with your family, with your loved ones. So if you’re with your loved ones right now, or your family, hold them close, get a takeaway in tonight, turn the heating on, cuddle up, winter's coming – oh I love it, you cannot beat it.
WATCH: Ruth Langsford stuns fans after sharing video of her 87-year-old mum dancing
Mark, 32, had moved to America in 2017 after being hired as an entertainment reporter for TV network E!. In February, the TV star revealed he quit his job and returned back to the UK. "I'm no longer living in LA," he told the Sun at the time. "I was there for nearly two years and had the most amazing time." Mark first shot to fame in 2010 after appearing on The Only Way is Essex, he then landed a contract with I'm A Celebrity and on Strictly Come Dancing before becoming a presenter.
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.