James Arthur has discussed how his alleged affair with Rita Ora impacted his life, as he revealed he ‘turned into a slag’ following the torrid romance.
The 29-year-old X Factor winner, who reigned victorious on the show in 2012, spoke to The Sun about his battle with addiction which led to his reels of romps with hundred of women after he was left ‘heartbroken’ by the songstress.
After first revealing their romance in a shock freestyle rap in 2013, he finally revealed last year: ‘Me and Rita were seeing each other on-and-off for a few months’, however he admits the end of the relationship culminated in a host of issues for the singer.
Hitting out: James Arthur has discussed how his alleged affair with Rita Ora impacted his life, as he revealed he ‘turned into a slag’ following the torrid romance
James’ stint on The X Factor saw him enjoy huge success, including seeing his winner’s single become the most sold of all time, however upon his return to music following a brief hiatus he has now touched on his mental health issues.
As he admits to battling various addictions, including marijuana and gambling, he has now candidly confessed his Rita romance left him having sex with hundreds of women, as he admitted he would enjoy the company of up to three girls a day.
After meeting Rita during his time on The X Factor, he confessed he could not believe she would be interested in him, yet insists she claimed to be in love.
When she ‘disappeared’, James’ compulsion with women began as he revealed: ‘If I’m honest, I became a bit of a slag after Rita. I was chatting to hundreds of women, and I started to sleep with so many of them I lost count.
Out and about: The 29-year-old X Factor winner, who reigned victorious on the show in 2012, spoke to The Sun about his battle with addiction which led to his reels of romps with hundred of women after he was left ‘heartbroken’ by the songstress
‘They were usually the same type — Babestation girls or glamour models. If I saw someone I fancied I’d contact her on social media and tell her blatantly I wanted to have sex.
‘It was ridiculously easy. There would be no emotional attachment and it would be just pure sex, and with one or two exceptions that was how it was.’
In October last year, James told the Evening Standard of the dalliance: ‘Me and Rita were seeing each other on-and-off for a few months. All of a sudden we just stopped talking. Maybe it was bad for her image to be seen with me. I was a little bitter about that because she’d said she had a lot of feelings for me.’
He caused shockwaves when he embarked on a rap battle on Radio 1Xtra in which he said the words: ‘Some people’s auras [Ora’s] and demeanours can deceive us, what they really want is a piece of your penis’ – yet he insisted it was merely wordplay.
Happy days: James’ stint on The X Factor saw him enjoy huge success, including seeing his winner’s single become the most sold of all time, however upon his return to music following a brief hiatus he has now touched on his mental health issues
Ahead of the release of his autobiography Back To The Boy, he also discussed his battle with mental health – including addition and at some points suicidal thoughts.
In December last year, he appeared on This Morning to discuss the depths of his issues, as he said: ‘I don’t think I made it clear where I was mentally when I appeared on X Factor. There was so much pressure and a lot of judging.
‘But I wanted to take a chance on the show because I wanted to make something of myself. X Factor seemed like the only way out. I’ve suffered with depression and I’m an anxious character. Even before the X Factor I was self-medicating quite a bit to just to get myself through the day.
‘When I was on the show, everything happened so quickly and I just wasn’t prepared for the level of attention and scurrility that came with it.’