Ruby Wax left ‘devastated’ over discovery that made her realise former husband was gay

Ruby Wax revealed how rifling under her marital bed ultimately led to the end of her relationship with one of her former husbands.

The comedian and actress, 72, had to go down the aisle twice before she found the right man for her - but thankfully, it proved to be third time lucky when she wed producer Ed Bye.

The pair have been married for the last 37 years and share three children, although Wax admitted she wasn't 'expecting to find her happy-ever-after' in him when they first met.

"I asked Ed if he wanted to marry me, told him I had an opening in my calendar, and gave him a date," she previously said. "I said many men were after me, but I was lying."

The I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! contestant has been candid about her love life throughout her career and has said that she didn't really bother with dating in her younger years.

She explained she became 'scared' to put herself out there due to the strained relationship she had with her father - and she presumed all blokes were 'like him'.

During an appearance on Paloma Faith's Mad Sad Bad podcast in June this year, Wax explained that she found herself preferring the company of gay men.

Ruby Wax and Ed Bye have been together for nearly four decades (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage)

"I didn't really date till I was much older because I was so scared," The Full Wax star said. "So I stayed away. I only had homosexuals around me, because they thought I was a riot."

She explained that she ended up getting married to 'two homosexuals', and she 'really loved' one of her husbands, before comically adding: "I mean, my right arm is really strong..."

The Illinois-born writer then revealed how she finally realised 'something was wrong' with their marriage after finding an item that her husband had secretly stashed in their bedroom.

"Under the bed was a male porno," she continued. "And I thought, well, we have the same taste in genitalia. I was devastated."

Wax said that she had thought her then-husband was the 'love of her life' at the time, so she was left heartbroken by the discovery - although she did add: "He was gay. I knew that. But I thought I broke him. I thought I turned him. He never turned."

The star said her ex-spouse then 'disappeared for 30 years', before randomly sending her a letter as he knew they were both heading to Hawaii.

The star said she was left 'devastated' by what she discovered under her bed when married to her former husband (YouTube/Mad Sad Bad Podcast)

Wax explained: "I was going to Hawaii for some work thing. And he said, 'I'll meet you there and I'll make a dinner for you'. He was there with his boyfriend.

"And then I got there and I said, 'Well, where are you?' And he said, 'I'm not going to let you ruin the second half of my life like you did the first'. Imagine the shock!"

When pressed about how their relationship had taken such a drastic turn for the worse, Wax admitted that she unintentionally 'outed' her former husband in her 2002 memoir How Do You Want Me?

The star recalled how her late pal and Harry Potter legend Alan Rickman had advised her to change the name of her ex flame, so she dubbed him 'Michael' in her book.

She went on: "So I said, 'Michael and I got married in Las Vegas', and then I talked about his homosexuality... and I realised his parents would know who Michael was, because I said I married him.

"I outed him. That's why I think he's angry...I'm sorry, if you're listening to this!"

This wasn't the first time Wax dated a gay man, either - as it happened with her first boyfriend, too.

"I had a boyfriend, Alan, when I was 15," she previously told The Sydney Morning Herald. "He was a gorgeous football player who became gay.

"I was his prom queen; we fought over the sash. In the end, he wanted to be a prom queen more than I did."

She also addressed the porn video she found under the bed during this chat, saying: "I went out with a lot of gay men because they made me laugh. I even married one so he could get a work permit.

"I found male pornography under the mattress in our bedroom and told him we have the same taste in genitals. It was tragic for me as I never learned how to deal with it or respond to it."