Kelsey Parker spoke to Christine Lampard about the loss of her baby boy Phoenix today (August 7), but the reaction to her appearance on Lorraine was divided – with the grieving star horrifically trolled on social media.
Kelsey appeared on the show to speak to Christine about the death of her son. Phoenix was stillborn 39 weeks into Kelsey’s pregnancy earlier this summer.
Of course, Kelsey lost her husband, The Wanted singer Tom Parker, to cancer in 2022. The couple shared two children – Aurelia, six, and Bodhi, four – and Kelsey has now revealed how she told the kids their baby brother had died, too.
Kelsey Parker on how she told her kids their brother had died
Kelsey told Christine: “It’s being honest, it’s telling them facts. I never want them to feel I haven’t been honest with them. I don’t want them to be in separate rooms to adults, kids listen.
“For me, we are so honest with them. And obviously they’ve gone through this before – they’ve lost their dad. They know their dad’s in heaven with the angels now, so we said: ‘Phoenix has gone with your daddy.'”
Kelsey then revealed how she and partner Will Lindsay are doing. “For me, we just take each day, and each day is so different for both of us. But I’m strong. And the one thing we are guaranteed is that we are going to die. So talking about death and grief is so important.”
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‘They understand what death is’
Speaking to the Mirror, Kelsey doubled down on her comments and added: “For the kids, it just breaks my heart for them because obviously we wanted the happy ever after and to have Phoenix but that didn’t pan out for us.
“I spoke about it like I did with Tom, I just told them the truth. I think that’s all you can do with your children, in anything you’re going through, be honest. Because I think people underestimate their children and what their children can cope with.
“I think for them it actually makes it easier because they’ve gone through loss, they understand what death is. We’re sort of almost like the Addams Family because we’ve gone through so much death and darkness. Aurelia likes to tell people that her dad’s died and her brother’s died. She will openly say it, but it’s other people’s reactions. They can’t cope with how honest and open we are.”
Kelsey Parker trolled after death of baby and husband Tom Parker
Another thing people can’t seem to cope with is how Kelsey can hold it together and speak about her grief on live TV. The podcaster, 34, was horrifically trolled after her Lorraine appearance today.
“Can she not keep anything private?” one commented. Another added: “I’ve seen Kelsey on TV more this year than my own family.” A third said: “Shame her husband died so young. But she seems to be on the TV a lot talking about it even though she’s with another man.”
Kelsey was fiercely defended by others, though, and come after the star herself urged people to “be kind”.
One commented: “Shocked at the awful comments on Kelsey. She sounds a strong person.” Another added: “Me too. She’s already faced more than many people face in a lifetime.
A third agreed and added: “There’s no need to be so mean about her. She’s been through a lot! I think making nasty personal comments about her or her children is unkind and unnecessary.”
Sending support, another viewer commented: “Kelsey Parker has been through so much at a young age, more than most face in a lifetime. Well done to her for talking about grief, it’s something we all face. Death is a fact of life, we can’t shy away from it.”
Read more: All the stars who’ve found love after heartache – from Kelsey Parker to Dame Deborah James’ widower
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