James Arthur claims he got 'honey-trapped' in the past

James Arthur has claimed he has been “honey-trapped” in the past.

The 33-year-old singer – who rose to fame after winning the ‘X Factor’ in 2012 – has suggested he’s been duped by women early in his career and insisted some girls were only interested in him because of his status.

He told the ‘Slacker’ podcast: “I think I might have been honey-trapped a couple of times by certain ladies.

“I went on a date – I won’t name the girl – but I went on a date with a girl who was in the public eye at one point.

“There was a lot of photos of us the next day and it seemed like… it all felt a little bit set up.”

Earlier this year, the ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ hitmaker split from his girlfriend Jesa Grist, whom he met when she was a backing dancer on ‘The X Factor’.

He has explained while he doesn’t mind “putting [himself] out there”, he tries to have some privacy for the sake of his loved ones and he knows his career means he needs to open up.

He told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “I put a lot of myself in the mu, a lot of my story, but the hope is it will help other people, too.

“I’ve never wanted to involve people in my personal life, even though I know it comes with the territory, but I’m fine about putting myself out there.

“I’m a big ambassador for mental health. Uncomfortable as it makes me feel to talk about my personal struggles, I’ve seen how helpful it can be so I’ll continue to do it, whether through mu or interviews.”

And James recently revealed that he was spending close to £200 an hour after getting hooked on online poker games during the pandemic.

At the beginning of lockdown I was deep in the PokerStars app. I was entering $500 tournaments every couple of hours, just sitting on that app all day.

“I deleted the app for a little while as I sensed I was getting a bit carried away.”