I’m A Celeb star Tony Bellew’s wife Rachael has revealed the boxer joined the ITV show to honour his grandmother – who sadly passed away the day after he agreed to enter the jungle.

Tony’s beloved grandparent Rose, who was a ‘second mum’ to the star, died aged 97 with wife Rachael saying he will no doubt be ‘thinking about her every day’ in the jungle.

Speaking about the impact of the death on her husband, 41, who she calls Ant, Rachel told The Mirror: ‘Rose would be so, so proud of Ant. She passed away a few days before he went in so that was obviously very difficult for him’.

‘She was like a second mum to Ant – he absolutely idolised her. He called her the “boss of the family”‘.

Adding: ‘He is doing this for her and I know he will be thinking of her every day while he’s in there’.

I’m A Celeb star Tony Bellew’s wife Rachael has revealed the boxer joined the ITV show to honour his grandmother – who sadly passed away the day after he agreed to enter the jungle

Rachael, who wed the boxer in 2018 and with whom she shares four sons, made a surprise entrance to camp where she comforted her emotional husband (pictured)

Tony’s beloved grandparent Rose, who was a ‘second mum’ to the star, died aged 97 with wife Rachael saying he will no doubt be ‘thinking about her every day’ in the jungle

Tony will fly back to the UK following his jungle stint in time for the funeral.

Rachael, who wed the boxer in 2018 and with whom she shares three sons, made a surprise entrance to camp where she comforted her emotional husband.

Speaking following Rose’s death Tony said: ‘If I couldn’t have changed the funeral date I would have renegade. But I’m here now. She was in a home and told my mum: ‘I’ll be able to watch every night’. But I’m sure she’ll be watching wherever she is, whatever she’s doing.’

He also acknowledged he did have some regrets about making the journey to Australia so soon losing his loved one.

He said: ‘I signed it the day before she passed away so there’s no going back now. I signed it and I honoured my agreement. In an ideal world, I would have left it but I signed the day before my nan passed away. I’m going to bury her on the 15th.

‘I was going to renegade if I couldn’t have moved the burial. She was in a home and she told me mum: ‘I’ll be able to watch that every night.’ She’ll be watching from wherever she is or whatever she’s doing.

‘She was a diamond of an old lady, she was wonderful. I come from a single-parent’s household. My dad left when I was 10.

‘So when you come from where I come from your nan helps around because your mother has to work.’

Speaking about the impact of the death on her husband, who she calls Ant, Rachel said: Rose would be so, so proud of Ant. She passed away a few days before he went in so that was obviously very difficult for him’.

Rachael, who wed the boxer in 2018 and with whom she shares four sons, made a surprise entrance to camp where she comforted her emotional husband (pictured)

She said: ‘[Rose] was like a second mum to Ant – he absolutely idolised her. He called her the “boss of the family”‘

‘So your nan was your second mum. So yeah, she was a lovely woman and had a heart of gold. She’ll be missed by all of us.’

Tony was surprised by his wife’s arrival and she shared her excitement ahead of seeing him as she said it was the longest time they had been apart without any contact.

Upon their reunion, Rachael told Tony how their three children Corey, Cobey and Carter all miss him and are ‘dead proud’ of him.

Tony said of reuniting with his wife: ‘This will stick with me more than any moment I’ve had in the jungle.’

The lovebirds first met each other at the age of nine, according to The Sun.

Although, the two did grow up together in Merseyside, they didn’t meet again until they were 18-years-old.

Bellew pursued Rachael when he nightclub bouncer, and was rejected by his future wife a total of three times.

Tony married Rachel in 2018, with the pair first meeting when they were only nine years old (pictured in 2017)

Family man: Rachael and Tony share  three boys  together. (Pictured: Tony Bellew, Rachael Roberts and their children attend the European Premiere of Creed III in 2023

Eventually, they decided to go on a first date to a cinema, with Rachael warning the pro boxer that if he was not a perfect gentleman he would have ruined his only chance, The Sun reports.

Rachael loyally stayed by his side ever since their first date at the cinema, through his stint as an amateur fighter – when he would only take home £100 a fight – before he turned professional in 2007.