Kelsey Parker Shares 'Honest' Way She Handles Tom's Death With Children
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Kelsey Parker has revealed how she broke the devastating news of Tom Parker's death to their two children.
Tom, who is best known for being a singer in the boyband The Wanted, died aged 33 in March after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in October 2020.
Kelsey, who is mum to Aurelia, two, and 20-month-old Bodhi, explained the discussions she has had with her children about their father's tragic death.
Speaking to OK! the 32-year-old said she told her daughter Aurelia that Tom is 'dead' and with the 'angels and butterflies' to avoid confusion.
“We’ve been really careful of the words we’ve used, because if you say, ‘Daddy has gone to sleep,’ I don’t want her to be scared to go to sleep," Kelsey explained.
"Now she won’t have the confusion when she goes to school and she’s talking to people. People know her dad has died and if she’s upfront and honest with them then they can’t beat around the bush either. She can say to people, ‘My dad is dead, he’s with the angels and butterflies now.’”
The mum-of-two also revealed that she is planning to turn Tom's ashes into jewellery for his mum Noreen and his two children.
In an interview with Lorraine Kelly earlier this month, Kelsey admitted that her daughter does not understand that her dad is 'not coming back'.
"Whenever [Aurelia] sees pictures of her dad, she’s like, 'It’s my dad!' She’ll be three at the end of this month," Kelsey explained.
"I’ve been really honest, she does still talk about him every day, she doesn’t quite understand he’s not coming back."
This has meant that Kelsey had to be 'really blunt and say he’s not coming back, that’s it, he’s dead and he’s not coming back because she doesn’t really understand'.
She said: "She’s just really confused by it. She thinks he's on tour. But we do then talk about him every day. She does ask me every day about him."
Before Tom passed away, he had been able to reunite on stage with his The Wanted bandmates, for a greatest hits album and a UK tour which visited Liverpool, Hull and London in March 2022.
The remaining members of the band; Max George, Jay McGuiness, Nathan Sykes and Siva Kaneswaran had been due to perform at the Live After Racing event at Newcastle Racecourse on 23 July.
However this performance was cancelled because it would have been their first performance without Tom.
The band said in a statement: “It is just over two months since we lost Tom and as much as we love performing live, it is just far too soon for us to even think about being on stage again as The Wanted."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
