Mark Wright felt "lonely and sad" living in Los Angeles.
The 32-year-old presenter moved to the US in 2017 to host ‘Extra’ but quit the TV show earlier this year to return home to his native UK and he’s admitted he found it hard being away from his wife Michelle Keegan and the rest of his family and friends.
Mark admitted his experiences in America taught him that money can’t buy happiness.
He said: "There’s been a survey this week and it’s really interesting, I love talking about this stuff. It’s ‘can money buy happiness?’ 60% of people say no and I’m with them.
"Why am I with them? Kind of a personal experience if you don’t mind me sharing it. Now of course if you have the important things in life, like on this list number one was laughter, number two was family and love, so if you have that and then you come in to money somehow, of course it’s going to make what you already have a little bit happier, but can it buy happiness that’s not there? No I don’t think I can.
"Now I was fortunate enough to get an amazing job in Los Angeles, somewhere where I’ve always wanted to work, in Hollywood. 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."
The former ‘Only Way is Essex’ star recalled how much he missed "normal" life in the UK and suggested he regretted sacrificing it in order to "chase the money".
Speaking on his Heart radio show, he continued: "And I was without my wife, who wasn’t living there coz she couldn’t and my family wasn’t there, my mum, my dad, my brothers and sisters, my friends – 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."
Tune in to Mark Wright on Heart every Saturday from 4pm – 7pm.
Mark Wright was ‘lonely’ in America
