Tom Parker‘s wife, Kelsey Parker, opened up about her life with their two children after the musician’s death earlier this year.
During an appearance on the British talk show Lorraine, which aired on Tuesday, June 14, Kelsey, 32, described the conversations she has with daughter Aurelia Rose, 2, about Tom’s passing. The Wanted band member died at age 33 in March after battling terminal brain cancer.
“I’ve been really honest, but she does still talk about him every day and she doesn’t quite understand that he’s not coming back,” she shared. “So I have to be really blunt to say he’s not coming, that’s it. He’s dead and he’s not coming back.”
Kelsey, who also shared son Bodhi Thomas, 20 months, with her late husband, admitted it has been a tough adjustment for her oldest child. “She’s a bit like, ‘Well, you’ve been on tour, so is he going to come back from this?’ She’s just really confused by it,” the actress added. “She does ask me every day about him. We have little things around the house of Tom’s, so she’ll see his wallet and be like, ‘Oh, that’s daddy’s wallet!’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s daddy’s wallet.'”
The “Glad You Came” artist announced in October 2020 that he was diagnosed with stage IV glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer impacting the brain and spinal cord. “Hey guys, you know that we’ve both been quiet on social media for a few weeks and it’s time to tell you why. There’s no easy way to say this but I’ve sadly been diagnosed with a Brain Tumour and I’m already undergoing treatment,” Tom wrote via Instagram at the time. “We decided, after a lot of thought, that rather than hiding away and trying to keep it a secret, we would do one interview where we could lay out all the details and let everyone know the facts in our own way.”
The X Factor alum added at the time: “We are all absolutely devastated but we are gonna fight this all the way. We don’t want your sadness, we just want love and positivity and together we will raise awareness of this terrible disease and look for all available treatment options. It’s gonna be a tough battle but with everyone’s love and support we are going to beat this.”
Less than two years later, Kelsey confirmed her husband’s death. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we confirm Tom passed away peacefully earlier today with all of his family by his side,” she captioned a black-and-white Instagram photo of Tom in March. “Our hearts are broken, Tom was the centre of our world, and we can’t imagine life without his infectious smile and energetic presence. We are truly thankful for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we all unite to ensure Tom’s light continues to shine for his beautiful children.”
The remaining members of the Wanted also released a statement, writing via the band’s official Instagram account: “Max [George], Jay [McGuinnes], Siva [Kaneswaran], Nathan [Sykes] and the whole Wanted family are devastated by the tragic and premature loss of our bandmate Tom Parker, who passed away peacefully at lunchtime today surrounded by his family and his band mates. Tom was an amazing husband to Kelsey, and father to Aurelia and Bodhi. He was our brother, words can’t express the loss and sadness we feel. Always and forever in our hearts.”
