David Mitchell never imagined he would be in a romantic relationship when he was younger
David Mitchell admitted he was too "embarrassed" to tell girls he fancied them when he was a youngster because he feared rejection, and that held the comedian back from getting into a romantic relationship.
David Mitchell never thought he would be in a romantic relationship when he was younger.
As a child, the 51-year-old comedian-and-actor was "embarrassed" to tell girls that he fancied them because he feared rejection.
David told the new issue of The Big Issue magazine: "I found it desperately embarrassing to admit when I fancied someone - I always felt the chances of any romantic success were zero.
"If there was going to be any, I felt it would happen organically by just hanging out. But someone has to make the running, and, in general, that's not the person you're currently infatuated with.
"I don't know if it would do any good at all, but I would tell my younger self, 'If you like someone, just ask her to go for a cup of coffee. Be overt. No one will laugh, the idea is not absurd, there will be people who like you.'
"If you get told, 'no,' that's not nice, but it's then done, and you won't live in this absurd aspirational limbo for so long.
"Because that was my experience for years and years."
In 2007, David met TV presenter Victoria Coren, 52, at a film premiere, and they had a series of short-lived dates before they properly began to date each other in 2010.
In 2012, the pair got engaged, and they got married in November that year at an intimate ceremony at St. Peter's Church in Belsize Park, London.
But David admitted he never had a "significant" romantic relationship before he met the Only Connect host, and he thinks they were always meant to be together.
The Would I Lie To You? panellist said: "I was very late to proper relationships.
"I didn't really have a significant romantic relationship before I met my wife.
"Considering how many mutual friends we have, it's odd we didn't meet earlier - but I think whenever we met, this was going to happen."
And David thinks his younger self would be thrilled to know he would be happily married and have two children - daughters Barbara, 10, and June, two, who he has with Victoria.
The Ludwig actor added: "My younger self would be pleased if I told him he was going to be married and have children - but I don't think he'd fully understand how important that is."
The Peep Show star quipped: "He would think of having a family as sort of like having a mortgage."
