Tom Parker’s widow Kelsey has said the last year has been “tough” for the family but the children will be able to celebrate their dad at a charity football match being held in his honour on Father’s Day this weekend.
The Wanted singer died aged 33 in March last year, 17 months after he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.
Parker’s widow, whom he married in 2018 and had two children with – Aurelia, three, and Bodhi, two – told Sky News she couldn’t even think about Father’s Day last year after “we’d just lost Tom”.
“But this year I was like, I want to celebrate him, and for the kids to celebrate him. So I planned a charity football match, and it’s exceeded my expectations completely.”
Celebrities including Harry Judd from McFly, soap actor Ryan Thomas, former England rugby player Ben Cohen and reality TV star Jake Quickenden are among those who will be taking part.
“It’s going to be an amazing day. It’s going to be a family fun day as well,” she said, adding more than 2,000 tickets had been sold so far, which are available through her Instagram account.
The event kicks off at 12.30pm on Sunday at Bromley FC’s stadium Hayes Lane to raise money for the Ahead of the Game Foundation which provides free rehabilitation to those diagnosed with cancer.
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Tom Parker speaking to Sky News in 2021
“It’s been really, really tough for us, but then we are gonna have happy moments like this to celebrate Tom,” Kelsey said of the last 15 months.
“I always say, ‘take each day as it comes’, because grief is a rollercoaster, and you know, you are never going to just wake up one day and go, ‘oh, I’m okay’.
“That’s just not life.”
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She added: “There’s so many bereavement charities that are set up that you can go and see.
“There is so much support out there, and if you feel like you need that support, then go and seek the advice and help.”
Parker disclosed in October 2020 that he had been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma and had begun radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Ed Sheeran helped to pay for some of his treatment, the late Wanted star revealed in his autobiography.
