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Today marks four years since The Wanted pop star Tom Parker died, with his wife, Kelsey, sharing a heartfelt tribute in his honour.
Parker was just 33 when he died, having been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in October 2020. Glioblastoma is the most common but most aggressive form of cancer that originates in the brain and has a very poor survival prognosis.
In November 2021, he announced that, following his latest scan, his tumour was ‘stable’, however, Parker’s health then rapidly deteriorated. He ultimately died from complications while receiving hospice care in London.
The Glad You Came hitmaker, who rose to fame alongside Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, and Nathan Sykes, was survived by wife Kelsey, whom he married in 2018, and their two children: Aurelia, now six, and Bodhi, four.
In recent years, Kelsey has spoken very openly about her grief, becoming an author and motivational speaker, and repeatedly keeping her late husband’s memory alive through social media posts.
To mark the fourth anniversary of his death, she shared a precious compilation video of home videos, which showed Parker with their kids, dancing with Kelsey on their wedding day, and belting out Wonderwall with his guitar.
Her caption began: ‘Dear Tom, my Papi … It’s been 4 years… 4 whole years without you. Words can’t even explain how much I miss you.’
‘I wish we could have just one more day… To laugh, to sing, to gossip, to be together. To party together. To put the world to rights like we used to at ridiculous o’clock. To talk before bed… to be parents together,’ Kelsey wrote.
‘I wish you had more time with your babies… Time that was taken far too soon. You only got two and a half years of being a Dad, and life just feels so unfair.’
She added that their little family ‘loved him with everything [they] had… But somehow, it still wasn’t enough.’
‘I know you picked me for a reason. And some days, the pressure feels so heavy… I find myself asking, why me? Why did I have to go through this?’, Kelsey then admitted.
‘But I trust it’s all part of a bigger plan.’
She went on to say she hopes she is making Parker ‘proud’ and that they ‘talk about [him] every single day’, joking that ‘some stories will definitely have to wait’ until their children are older.
While Aurelia was only two when her dad died, Kelsey says their daughter is his ‘double’ in ‘so many ways’, describing their eldest as ‘strong, funny, and fierce’.
‘I just know you two would’ve gone head to head’, she wrote. ‘She is your daughter through and through.’
As for son Bodhi, he was born just five months before Parker’s death. Kelsey says he has grown into ‘the most beautiful, kindest soul’ who ‘loves football [and] animals’.
Kelsey ended her tribute by noting that the late star is ‘up there looking after [her] baby boy’, after she announced in June last year that her third child, whom she named Phoenix Parker-Lindsay, was stillborn.
‘Thank you for the signs, for the messages… please never stop,’ Kelsey concluded.
‘You were truly one of a kind, Tom Parker. There will never be another like you.
‘I can’t wait to meet you again in our next lifetime, my love ❤️’
Kelsey’s comments section quickly filled with supportive messages from Parker’s fans, with @keepingupwiththevinces writing: ‘Even as “just a fan” I still think of him now, he really touched people’s lives in such a way he’ll never be forgotten. Sending you & your family so much love Kels ❤️’
‘He is so missed. He was the most genuine soul. 4 years later and it still feels so raw. Sending you and your family so much love Kelsey’, commented @atu_mn.
@amy_v_long thanked the influencer for ‘continuing to share Tom with us’, while @sophie.phillips.75033 said he would be ‘so proud’ of her.
‘I still can’t believe this happened, I miss watching his stories of you all everyday, what a loss to this world 😢 [sic]’, added @sarahjayne2000.
Since Parker’s death, Kelsey has dated electrician Sean Boggans, but they split in April 2023. In September 2024, she announced her relationship with tree surgeon Will Lindsay and, the following January, confirmed she was pregnant.
Devastatingly, their baby boy was stillborn just one week before her due date, with Kelsey writing on Instagram at the time that there was ‘no preparing for this kind of heartbreak’.
Speaking previously to Metro, Kelsey said she didn’t want to be a ‘typical widow’, refusing to let ‘guilt’ stop her from living her life.
‘If there is a grief handbook, please hand it to me! I’m just doing what feels best for me, and I’m just being Kelsey,’ she told us, praising Parker’s fanbase for uplifting her.
‘I get asked if I feel guilty, but it’s like, guilty for living? No, because I’m the one still here,’ she added. ‘I have to live my life now.
‘As a nation, we think that I should be in mourning, but that’s not life, and life has to continue.’
Who to call if you need help
The Cruse Bereavement Care Freephone National Helpline is staffed by trained bereavement volunteers, who offer emotional support to anyone affected by bereavement.
The number is 0808 808 1677
You can also email [email protected]
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