Olly Murs opens up on the pain of being estranged from his twin

Olly Murs has revealed he ‘struggled with loneliness’ after becoming estranged from his twin brother Ben.

The Troublemaker singer, 40, missed his brother’s wedding in 2009 to take part in the semi-final of The X Factor and the pair have not spoken since.

Now, Olly  has admitted that in the years that followed their sudden separation that he struggled to cope on his own.

He told The Saturday Times: ‘When you’ve been in the womb with someone, you struggle with loneliness. I had to deal with it when my twin and I went on our separate lives.  

‘I was desperate to be around people, could not sit in a room alone. 

The Heart Skips A Beat hitmaker tied the knot with Amelia Tank in  the summer of 2023 and they recently welcomed baby Madi but he admitted that in the years that he was single, he had to learn to enjoy being alone. 

He added: ‘When I was single for three years, I had to learn to like my own company. That’s when I met Amelia.’

Olly did not give any indication of whether he and his brother will ever be on speaking terms again but did share that his life goal is now to be the best husband and father he can be. 

He added: ‘My aim in life is to be a great husband and father — that’s where my future lies. I’d love my career to continue as it is, but when you get married and become a dad, you just want to be the best for them.’

But it isn’t only Olly who his brother has left behind, with Ben also distancing himself from his parents and their sister, as the Dear Darlin’ hitmaker admitted ‘Christmas has never been the same’ since.

On their feud, Ben told MailOnline in January 2017: ‘I was very close to my parents, but fame and greed changed everything. 

‘My parents wanted this bright, shiny Olly with the money who can give them the VIP lifestyle. They liked hanging around with Simon Cowell, or going to Bon Jovi concerts – they loved their VIP selfies.

‘I’m not interested in anything like that, I have a lovely life with my wife and kids.’

But Olly is still keen to make amends with his brother at some point.

On burying the hatchet, the media personality explained: ‘I still want to make that change with my brother.’ 

Asked by Lorraine Kelly in 2018 if he though the rift could ever heal, Olly said: ‘I hope so, of course, it’s mad because every year I think about it, (will it be) nine years, 10 years.

‘I did text him for his birthday but he changed his number. Christmas has never been the same.’