Chris Tarrant’s publicly shamed former wife has cited hair loss as one of the effects of her traumatic divorce.

Ingrid Tarrant was thrust into the public eye two years ago, when it was revealed her TV presenter husband had been cheating on her for ten years.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ingrid said: “I had developed a ridiculously long list of symptoms: insomnia, upset stomach, irritability, hair loss, weight loss, mouth ulcers and abscesses, weak nails and exhaustion.”

Scientists now understand that stress can be a major contributory factor to hair loss. When a person becomes stresses, their body sends signals to the hair follicles telling them to “rest” and stopping any new hair from growing.

Over the next few months, hair is shed from the scalp as usual, but new hair growth will not take place. As a result, people often don’t notice their hair loss for some time. Often the cause of the stress has subsided by then, and new hair growth can resume; but if the stress is prolonged, further hair loss can occur. This is when a person becomes in danger of suffering permanent hair loss.