Fans are rallying around Jake Quickenden, 37, as he shares another heartbreaking tribute to his late father.
The TV personality’s father, Paul Quickenden, died of bone cancer when Jake was in his early twenties. In the years since, the former X Factor star has been open about his grief. He has also become a father himself to four-year-old Leo and 11-month-old Kit. He also helps to raise 11-year-old Freddie, wife Sophie’s son from a previous relationship.
On Instagram, Jake shared a throwback photo of his father feeding him a bottle as a baby, and wrote: “A new year coming and another year I miss you. This is just a thank you, Dad, for being you, for showing me love and guiding me. You taught me how to be a father, and no matter what, I will always be the best I can. I wish you could have met them. Love you, Dad. Hope you had a nice Christmas wherever you may be.”
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Fans rushed to support Jake Quickenden
Fans of Jake flocked to the comments to support him. As several users shared strings of heart emojis, one wrote: “Sending love to you Jake. I suddenly lost my dad at the age of 25 this September and it just feels so strange. My anxiety has been at an all time high since losing him. Such an emptiness without my dad here.”
Another fan also shared their own personal perspective, telling Jake: “Sending love. I lost both my parents last month and I can only now understand how hard this must have been for you for so long.”
“You are the absolute double of your Dad,” a third pointed out. “He would be so very proud of you.”
A fourth agreed: “He will be immensely proud looking down on you, mate. The father you are and the hard work and sacrifices you do, all to give your family a lovely life. You boys are a credit to you and Sophie. I hope you’re proud of yourself, too, as you really should be. Much love.”
Jake on his father
Jake previously opened up about his grief on GB News in 2022.
“It’s been a very hard journey to get where I am today and to deal with my grief and how I deal with my feelings,” he explained.
“I was 20 or 21 when I lost my dad, so it was really tough. They were kind of years where I was going out and I was finding out who I was. So to have my dad taken away, it kind of made me lose a bit of myself.”
Referencing his role as a grief ambassador for Co-op FuneralCare, he added: “It’s taken me a long time to get over that, and that’s why I’m an ambassador now to talk about grief and talk about things.
“I feel like maybe if I spoke about it a little bit sooner and talked about the way I felt sooner, then I think I would have I would have come to terms with it quicker. But I didn’t.”
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