We've lost two and a half stone between us!
From Now mag Jan 2005.
After months of binge eating on Eastenders, Jack Ryder says he left the soap looking like
Elvis Presley. But he took a leaf out of wife Kym Marsh's book and lost an amazing 2st in 3
months - while she danced her way into a size eight.
This time last year, things were looking bleak for Kym Marsh and Jack Ryder. Their
17-month marriage had been battered by rumours of a bust up, they were both facing
the future with no work lined up and to top it all, Kym's dad was facing a make or break
quadruple heart bypass operation. 'It was hell,' admits former Eastender Jack today.
But what a difference 12 months make. Kym's dad came through his life saving op with
flying colours, then the couple ended their run of bad career luck by both landing jobs.
Now they say their marriage is 'stronger than ever'.
They also enter 2005 in the best shape they've ever been in. Kym has toned up and lost
7lb thanks to her stint in the West End musical Saturday Night Fever, while Jack took a
leaf out of his wife's book and embarked on a diet and fitness regime that's seen him shed
an incredible 2st in just three months.
'Things are a lot more positive than this time last year,' says Kym.'Tenfold,' agrees Jack,
who's currently playing Prince Charming in panto in Canterbury, Kent. 'Last year was
awful, with everything that was going on. But we pulled together and hoped that things
would get better. And they have. We've both got jobs, our relationship is much better...
its gone beyond what we hoped for. We're happier now than we've ever been.'
Physically, the change is much more evident in 23-year-old Jack. In the months before
leaving Eastenders in November 2002 he piled on the pounds - largely, he says, because
of his inactive lifestyle and pigging out on junkfood. But it didn't help that he was clearly
unhappy playing Jamie Mitchell.
'I made up my mind to leave Eastenders about a year before I actually left,' he explains. 'So
I think a lot of the weight gain was down to boredom. When I worked on the show there
was a lot of sitting around. You have two choices - use that time to your benefit or just not
care about what you do, which is what I did. I ate and drank what I wanted and I was
snacking all the time.
'What didn't help was that at the same time I was growing out of my skinny teenager
phase. I wasn't watching my diet or doing the exercise I should have been doing. So my
weight gain turned to jelly. I had an unhealthy lifestyle.
Kym laughs. 'That fist time I came round to your flat there were pizza boxes all over the
place,' she says.
Jack adds: 'I never walked anywhere - I used my car all the time. And I'd eat McDonalds,
Butger King, pizzas... even Sainsbury's trifles! My brothere recently reminded me of the
shopping trips I used to do. I was 17 and used to live on Monster Munch, Dr Pepper,
tubs of trifle, other deserts - just loads of crap. It was classic binge eating.
'At the time I thought it was fine. I was a skinny boy and it didn't matter. But it soon
caught up with me.'
And how. By the time of his wedding to Kym in August 2002, people were already having
a go about Jack's weight gain. When he was photographed looking decidedly podgy on
honeymoon - in contrast to his toned wife, who'd hired a personal trainer to help her to
lose a stone to get into her wedding dress - Jack was aware that he had to take action.
Kym asks him: 'Remember what it did for you? It was those paparazzi shots of us on
honeymoon in Corfu. I can remember you looking at them and saying: "Right, I don't want
to look like that any more." You felt you were chubby.'
Jack grins. He can laugh at it now. 'I was being called the new Elvis Presley,' he says. 'I
didn't really care what people said about me. It's not nice hearing it, but I saw myself every
night in the mirror before I went to bed and I wasn't happy with the way I looked.
'I really did think I looked like Elvis. I feared I was heading for that stage - being overweight,
unhealthy, and heading for a heart attack by the time I hit 40.'
What didn't help was that Jack was fed up with the pressure of soap stardom. He can
identify with recent soap casualty Chris Parker. Chris played Albert Square's Spencer
Moon, but personal problems have led him to quit the BBC1 soap.
'I don't know Chris very well, but I've met him and he's a lovely guy,' says Jack. 'All I can
guess is that he's been under a huge amount of pressure. Being in a show like
Eastenders is a huge deal and it becomes your life.'
When he was on the show, he was as much of a heart-throb as Chris and he admits he
found it hard to cope with. 'I was on anti-depressants for years. I couldn't even go to the
Nike store to buy a pair of trainers - they'd have to close the shop to stop people coming
in, especially girls.
'It may sound like every blokes dream to have girls throwing themselves at you, but to be
honest it was a bloody nightmare. Its awful, thats one of the reasons I decided to leave. It
was taking over my life.
'I'm quite a boringindividual really,' Jack explains, while Kym hoots with laughter. 'I like being
at home and I don't want people knocking on my door on new years eve asking for
autographs. My lifestyle now is how I want it: a lot calmer.
'I'm not knocking Eastenders - it was the big break I dreamt of. But now I've got my life
back and things are very different. I have my wife, my family and I'm working. OK, I'm not on
primetime TV, but then I don't get the aggravation either. I'm enjoying not being in the
mainstream of celebrity.'
After giving up the security of Eastenders, Jack had a lot of time on his hands. He asked
Kym - who was famously once accused of being 'chubby' on thr first pop reality show
Popstars and went on to lose one and a half stone - for dieting advice, but he admits it
was half hearted at first.
'I talked to Kym about things and I spent about a year off, going to and from the gym, not
really doing anything serious. I was pretending to do something about my weight instead
of really doing it.'
'Then I met a trainer at the gym called Paul Herbert. We became good friends, and he
very kindly offered to help. So I started training more and more and worked out a 12
week programme.'
Kym add. 'He also changed his diet dramatically and there was a stage where he'd go
running every morning. Jack would be up at 7.30am and I'd just turn over and go: "Ugh!"
Although Kym had her lie-in's, at the same time she was shedding weight after signing up
for a lead role in Saturday Night Fever. 'I didn't intentionally try to lose the weight - it was
all the exercise I was getting dancing around for two hours every night. I was tired enough
after the shows to realise I'd had a really good workout and it toned me up all over -
especially my legs.'
Kym, 28, is now down to a size eight. She's never looked better and is clearly delighted
with Jack's toned new look. 'I'm really proud of him,' she says. 'Although I always loved him
the way he was. He's always been sexy to me.'
In contrast with this time last year, things are on the up for the couple. After making it
through a tough few months, they're optimistic about the future. 'The good thing about
everything we've been throught is that we've come through it stronger than ever,' says
Jack.
'This time in 2004, we didn't even know what we were going to do,' admits Kym. 'I got
disheartened with showbiz and was having a few troubles, especially with my dad being ill.
'We had a crappy start to last year. It was very gloomy, but we all pulled together - and
that's what's carried us through.'