On the anniversary of Tom Parker’s death, his widow Kelsey reflects on trying to move on after losing the love of her life
SHELLEY SPADONI
It’s been almost two years since Kelsey Parker’s world fell apart. On 30 March 2022, her husband, Tom Parker – a singer with pop band The Wanted – passed away after a brave battle with brain cancer.
On top of the overwhelming grief of losing the love of her life at such a young age, Kelsey was left to bring up their two children, Aurelia, now four, and Bodhi, now three, without their doting father by her side.
Kelsey did embark on a new relationship with electrician Sean Boggans some eight months after Tom’s death – but she announced last December that the romance is over. She wrote on Instagram, “It’s a shame it didn’t work out as he’s a really amazing person, but it just wasn’t right. Hopefully one day I will find love again.”
Opening up at the recent Together For Short Lives Ball, Kelsey – who often shares the life milestones missed by Tom on her social media – spoke about grief, remembering her “soulmate” and facing the difficult month ahead.
“Grief’s a funny thing, isn’t it?” she said. “Living grief and going through it… For me, I am the preacher of, ‘You’ve got to live for each day and take each day as it comes.’ But I think when I hit March, I’m like, ‘Oh my God,’ and I can’t believe it’s actually been two years since I lost Tom.”
Tom, who rose to fame with boy band The Wanted after their formation in 2009, died at the shockingly young age of 33 – two years after being diagnosed with an inoperable stage four glioblastoma brain tumour.
The outpouring of grief for him was huge, with thousands of fans lining the streets outside St Francis of Assisi church in Petts Wood, south-east London, before the private funeral ceremony.
It’s hard to forget the images of a devastated Kelsey leading the cortege, while Max George carried the coffin alongside fellow band members Jay McGuiness, Siva Kaneswaran and Nathan Sykes, and flowers spelling out the word “Daddy” were carried into the church.
Not long afterwards, Max broke down on air as he opened up about his own grief during his appearance on reality show Scared Of The Dark.
He said, “How do you deal with it? There’s no cure for that, so you just sort of learn to carry on with your life.
