Ashley Cain signed up to Celebrity SAS after going through a ‘traumatic’ time in his life

Ashley Cain has revealed he signed up for SAS: Who Dares Wins after going through a “traumatic” time in his life when his daughter Azaylia died.

He sadly lost his daughter on April 24, 2021, when she was only eight months old after a valiant battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

The former Ex On The Beach star, 31, spoke candidly about Azaylia and how her death affected him and his life and she is the reason he wants to succeed, both on the SAS course and in life.

In the upcoming episode, the celebrities reveal their motivations for joining the show and what lit the fire in them to get them as far on the track as possible.

Ashley explained, “I’ve always been marmite. You either love me or you hate me. I prefer to let people know who I am and let them judge me and still be who I want to be. I’m here to learn more about myself. I’m here to get things done. I am here for many reasons. I’m in a bit of a transition period in my life.

‘I’m a family man. Always been a family man, that’s what matters to me. I had the opportunity to start my own family and I had a beautiful little girl. Two months after my daughter was born, we found out that she had a very aggressive form of leukemia.

“She was incredible. She showed strength, she showed courage. She showed everything it takes for a person to get ahead in this world. And then she sadly lost her life on April 24th. She died in my arms and it’s a moment I’ll never forget.’

The former footballer said: “One thing I will remember is that every day my daughter fought this disease, she smiled every day. She fought every day and she made the most of every day. And that is a lesson I will take with me for the rest of my life. She didn’t have the chance in life that I have that we all have and I definitely don’t want to waste mine. I want to make her proud. I want to show people that whatever you go through in life, you can conquer anything.

“The day my little girl was born was a moment I’d been waiting for all my life. I couldn’t have been a happier, prouder father and then suddenly everything changed. When they told us there was nothing more they could do, it broke me completely.

“All I wanted to know at that moment was that if she goes, she will go into my arms and go peacefully. And when she was eight months old, she died in the arms of me and my partner. I believe she had a peaceful transition to the other side.

“When I’m backed into a corner, I take myself to the darkest times of my life where I fought alongside my daughter. After going through such trauma, I realized that even if your body wants to give up, your mind can push it past all the limits you previously thought it had.”

Ashley is no longer with Azaylia’s mother Safiyya Vorajee, 34, but previously revealed that they would always be connected because of their daughter.

Maisie Smith also opened up about her motivation for joining the show: “I have no idea how people see me because I assume you only look at me once and think, ‘oh cocky little Essex girl,’ what is true, but there’s a lot more to me that people don’t know. I was on Eastenders for 13 years, that’s all I can remember. Sometimes I think I’m more comfortable being Tiffany than I am Maisie.

“The great thing about being an actress is that I know how to look confident. In reality I have no idea what I’m doing. I think growing up with a lot of adults, I felt somewhat undermined.

I’ve had some trouble speaking and I didn’t stutter but I could just go blank and no words came out and I think the more that happened the more people just talked over me. And it hit me because I constantly felt like every time I tried to speak it was just useless and pointless, so I just didn’t do it. And this was a horrible feeling, knowing that I couldn’t find a single word and it was like I didn’t know any words.

“I found it quite difficult and I just hated the person I was for a long time. The reason I worked so hard and pushed myself was because the one thing I can’t control is the thing I’m most afraid of. And being afraid to talk… it’s terrible. I would like to overcome these fears. I want to be the strong person I try to be.”

Jennifer Ellison spoke candidly about her past experiences that led her to sign up for the show: “People will think I’m crazy for doing this because I like a nice warm bath. I enjoy getting my hair done and my nails done. I know I’m not the strongest. I am 38 years old and I am not a superwoman.

“But I’ll work my ass off. …everything I do now is encouraged by my kids, so I want to make them proud and I want them to go to school and say, “My mom is a bad-ass.” I want to show my real me – someone who is a team player. I will push myself to the limit, I know that. I am not one to give up on my bracelet easily. I will not.

“If I fail, I’m absolutely gutted, but I hope I leave this challenge with a new-found respect for myself. I’ve been strong. I have had faith and I have achieved and nothing has ever stood in my way. And I have to come back to that.’

In the upcoming episode, a team is made or broken by the leader and in this phase, Chief Instructor Rudy Reyes puts ex-football player Ashley Cain and actress Maisie Smith to the test.

In the first task, both teams must build a zipline in the Jordanian coastal port of Aqaba and get all their gear over a body of water, without getting it wet, before going head-to-head in one of the most violent tasks on the trail; murder ball. They must act strategically and use controlled aggression to gain control over a band.

Finally, back in the blistering heat of the Jordanian desert, the two teams must figure out how to load and pull a 200kg sled loaded with gear into a narrow ravine. It is a test of tactics, guts and determination.

Not all recruits will make it through this brutal phase, as the weak must be culled before the final selection phases take place.

The original SAS: Who Dares Wins sees civilians undergoing military training exercises to test their physical and mental strength, and the celebrity spin-off launched in 2019.

On Celebrity SAS, Ashley is joined by actresses Maisie Smith, 21, and Jennifer Ellison, 39; TV personality Calum Best, 41; Reality TV stars, Pete Wicks, 33, and Ferne McCann, 32; Javelin Olympic gold medalist, Fatima Whitbread MBE, 61.

Also participating is former Love Island winner Amber Gill, 25; Influencer and brothers AJ and Curtis Pritchard, 27 and 26; Olympic Sprinter, Dwain Chambers, 44; Olympic gold medalist Jade Jones OBE, 29, professional boxer, Shannon Courtenay, 29, and Paralympic high jumper, Jonathan Broom-Edwards MBE, 34.