Tony Bellew enjoyed a lovely reunion with his family after finishing in second place in the final of I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here on Sunday night.
The champion boxer, 41, received a hero's welcome at the Marriott Gold Coast Resort when he arrived with his wife Rachael, 40, and their children Corey, 18, Cobey, 15, Carter, 11, and Carson, three.
With his youngest son in his arms, Tony looked overwhelmed as he walked inside where the rest of the year's cast was waiting.
Still dressed in his jungle outfit, Tony held tight to Carson, who, along with his brothers, was given permission to be absent from school in Liverpool to fly to Australia to greet their father.
Tony Bellew enjoyed a lovely reunion with his family after finishing in second place in the final of I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here on Sunday night
The champion boxer received a hero's welcome at the Marriott Gold Coast Resort when he arrived with his wife Rachael and their children Corey, 18, Cobey, 15, Carter, 11, and Carson, three.
In Sunday night's final, Tony's good friend Sam Thompson beat him for the King of the Jungle title, with Nigel Farage finishing in third place.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Monday morning, Tony admitted he had a tough time in the jungle.
'I will never give up, no matter how hard it gets. It was difficult. “I went through a lot before I went there with my personal life, I lost my grandmother and I missed my son's birthday, which I promised him I would never do again after I retired.”
Tony added that one of the most difficult moments during his jungle experience was when his wife made a surprise visit to the camp on Friday.
“When Rachael showed up in the jungle, it bothered me for a good ten minutes,” he admitted. “I wanted to walk out and go with her.”
“She told me I couldn't do that. It would have been a big disappointment for the children. It broke my heart to leave her again. But I went back to Sam! He's a great person. Anyone who does not love him has no soul.”
Tony explained how a friend convinced him to sign up for the show in the first place because he insisted he is not a celebrity.
“I have a good friend named Mike. Mike redirected me to go in there. Nobody really knows me. It didn't bother me. I wasn't sure if people would like me. My personality is that I'm a maniac who punches people in the face.'
With his youngest son in his arms, Tony looked overwhelmed as he walked inside where the rest of the year's cast was waiting.
“The truth is I'm a normal person, you just saw me and people like me for me.”
Former Made In Chelsea star Sam, 31, has been the bookmakers' favorite to win in recent weeks and stormed to victory when he was crowned during the live final.
Tony wasn't too disappointed to finish second as he felt his new friend was a more than worthy winner.
He said: '10 days ago I knew. When I first met him, I knew I had never met anyone like him before… He deserves it more than anything and I couldn't be happier.”
Tony admitted that he had found life in the camp 'very, very difficult' and was therefore grateful for his friendships with Sam and JLS singer Marvin Humes.
Still dressed in his jungle outfit, Tony held tight to Carson, who, along with his brothers, was given permission to be absent from school in Liverpool to fly to Australia to greet their father.
In Sunday night's final, Tony's good friend Sam Thompson beat him for the King of the Jungle title, while Nigel Farage finished in third place.
Tony has revealed that one of the most difficult moments during his jungle experience was when his wife made a surprise visit to the camp on Friday
“When Rachael showed up in the jungle, it bothered me for a good ten minutes,” he admitted. “I wanted to walk out and leave with her.”
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Monday morning, Tony admitted he had a tough time in the jungle
He said: 'You are alone with your own thoughts and my mind is not the best, it was not easy. It was very difficult and you think to yourself, “What am I doing here?”
“I definitely think I was put here to be with Sam and get to know him, Marvin was a big part of it too, I can't believe he's not here.
'Everyone was great… I know this is called I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! but I'm not one of them, a celebrity, and no one felt like a celebrity, they were just normal.
“It's the first time in my life I've sat with a bunch of strangers and just thought, 'You're all healthy people.'
Tony's wife Rachael has been staying at the Marriott Hotel in Surfers' Paradise for the past week while caring for her four sons.
The mother-of-four told MailOnline last week that 'the school was so supportive of them coming out.
Sam and Tony had developed a close bond while living together in the jungle
Sam received a hero's welcome as he returned to his luxury hotel in Surfer's Paradise on Sunday after winning I'm A Celebrity
She explained, “Well, I sent Tony in to talk to the principal because I said, “This is your thing, so you do it,” and the principal was totally fine with it and told Tony, “Hey, go and enjoy.”'
Childhood sweethearts Tony and Rachael are both from the Toxeth area of Liverpool and met 22 years ago at the nightclub where he was a bouncer – this is the longest they have ever spent apart.
Tony arrived in the jungle five days after the other celebrities with jockey Frankie Dettori, who was the first to leave the show and has since won the hearts of the public with his no-nonsense manner and continued calm in the camp.
