She used to walk red carpets with her late husband before he died earlier this year (Picture: Getty Images/ITV
Tom Parker’s wife, Kelsey Parker, has said it’s ‘really hard’ returning to the Pride of Britain Awards without him for the first time.
The Wanted singer died at a hospice near the couple’s south-east London home on March 30 at the age of 33 after suffering from an inoperable brain tumour.
He shared the ups and downs of his journey with his fans, with Kelsey recently attending the National Television Awards after his documentary was nominated.
Now, the mum-of-two must walk red carpets like at the Pride of Britain Awards alone, after attending several events with her husband by her side in the past.
She joined stars such as Peter Andre, Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield, and host Carol Vorderman at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Monday night, to honour everyday people and their extraordinary achievements.
Kelsey said the event was ‘full of inspirational people,’ similar to those she had encountered while dealing with her husband’s illness.
Tom Parker’s wife Kelsey admitted she didn’t realise how hard it was going to be without him (Picture: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)
Speaking to the PA news agency on the red carpet of the 2022 event, she said: ‘It’s really hard being back here without him. I didn’t realise how hard that was going to be for me.
‘But, this is an inspirational night and there are so many inspirational people here, so I’ve just got to enjoy it.’
Kelsey went on to recall Parker attending the bash with his bandmates – Max George, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuinness and Siva Kaneswaran – last year.
‘This night is full of inspirational people and on the journey that we’ve been on, I’ve met so many of these types of people anyway so it’s great to just be under one roof with them,’ she said.
The late star previously attended the event with his The Wanted bandmates, (L-R) Tom Parker, Max George, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuinness and Siva Kaneswaran (Picture: PA)
‘Even now after losing Tom the amount of charities that do stuff with grief – I feel like we need to shine a light on these good people because there are good people in the world.’
Kelsey admitted that people can ‘sometimes get so bogged down in all the bad.’
Parker announced in October 2020 he had been diagnosed with stage-four glioblastoma and had begun radiotherapy and chemotherapy, later writing about his experiences in a bestselling book, titled Hope.
Echoing the message of her husband’s book, Kelsey told PA that the couple ‘lived in hope’ throughout her late husband’s illness, hoping to inspire others to ‘create’ their own hope.
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The couple married in 2018, their daughter, Aurelia Rose, was born in 2019 and they welcomed their son, Bodhi, in October 2020.
Kelsey recently marked their fourth wedding anniversary by sharing a video from their special day on Instagram, saying she missed the singer ‘immensely.’
The Pride of Britain Awards 2022 airs on Thursday on ITV.
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The Wanted star died in March, leaving behind his wife and two children.