Former England rugby star Ben Cohen is facing a deeply personal challenge alongside the grueling demands of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. The show is forcing him to confront a wave of emotions triggered by a family crisis.
Cohen recently revealed his eldest daughter, Isabelle, is preparing to have a pacemaker fitted. The 17-year-old’s heart condition has brought a period of intense worry and a renewed focus on family for the athlete.
During a particularly intense interrogation on the show, Cohen spoke of the past eighteen months as “horrendous.” He emphasized the need to be a “pillar of strength” for Isabelle and his other daughters, twins Harriette and Milena.
The emotional weight of the situation has been significant. Cohen admitted to prioritizing his daughters’ needs, sometimes to the detriment of his own well-being – a pattern of self-neglect born from a desire to protect them.
A pacemaker is a small, surgically implanted device designed to regulate an irregular heartbeat. It delivers carefully timed electrical impulses to the heart, ensuring a consistent and healthy rhythm, and dramatically improving quality of life.
Cohen penned a heartfelt letter to Isabelle as part of a challenging exercise on the show, a letter written as if it might be his last. He expressed immense pride in her bravery and maturity throughout the ordeal.
“You are such a brave girl and have been so mature since finding out about your heart problem,” he wrote, praising her active role in choosing her treatment and even selecting the type of pacemaker she preferred.
The pressures of the show have also unearthed deeper, older wounds. Cohen opened up about the lasting impact of his father’s death in 2000, a tragedy that occurred while he was intervening in a nightclub altercation.
The loss left a “hole” in his life, a pain that resurfaces amidst the current challenges. The intensity of Celebrity SAS appears to be stripping away layers of emotional defense, forcing him to confront unresolved grief.
This period of personal turmoil comes after a complex on-again, off-again relationship with Kristina Rihanoff, his former *Strictly Come Dancing* partner. The show is revealing the weight of multiple life events converging at once.
Cohen described a feeling of being overwhelmed, as if “the lid off the can” had been removed, allowing a torrent of emotions to surface. He acknowledged that past hardships often return unexpectedly, demanding attention and resolution.
