Zoe Ball has opened up about the death of her late boyfriend, Billy Yates, and how she wishes she'd done more to help him
Zoë Ball has spoken out about the last time she spoke to her late boyfriend Billy Yates, who took his own life last May following a battle with depression.
Zoë, 47, discussed her last moments with Billy in a BBC documentary entitled Zoe Ball's Hardest Way Home, filmed partly while she was completing a gruelling 350-mile cycling challenge to raise money and awareness around mental health.
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The radio presenter opened up about the last time she spoke to Billy, revealing that she wishes she'd told him more about how she felt.
She said: "It was just that moment and that feeling of, 'Oh my god I love him so much, we’ll find some help and it will all be okay'.
"And I wish I’d told him that."
This isn't the first time Zoë has expressed regret over Billy's death - she told Radio Times that she felt she should have done more to save him.
She said: "Even now I sometimes think, 'I’m a resourceful woman, I’m a bright woman... Why could I not save him?'
"And then I have to stop and say, 'Everyone who loved him knew. None of us found an answer, none of us saved him.' To move forward you have to accept that. Which is very difficult."
Zoë began dating Billy after splitting from her husband Norman Cook in September 2016, but their romance was cut short following his death in May 2017.
She has happily found love again, and has reportedly been dating building firm boss and dad-of-three Michael Reed, who she met just before Christmas last year.
A source close to Zoë told The Sun that although it's "moving pretty fast," Zoë is "head over heels" for Michael.
They added: "He is love-bombing her and really pulling out all the stops to impress her. Although he has a bit of a reputation, her friends are pleased because the relationship has pulled her out of a bit of a hole she was in.
"She is the happiest she has been in a long time which is great – she is back in a good place."
We're all behind you, Zoë!
WATCH: Zoë Ball reaches the finish line of her 350-mile cycling challenge
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