Jane McDonald has opened up about the touching ways she keeps the memory of her late fiancé Eddie Rothe alive, almost five years after losing him to lung cancer.
The beloved singer and television presenter revealed she still plays voicemails from the musician and wraps herself in his jumper when she wants to feel connected to him.
Mr Rothe, who had performed as a drummer with Liquid Gold and The Searchers, passed away in March 2021 at the age of 67.
Speaking to Woman magazine recently, the 62-year-old explained: “It’s the first time I’ve written about Ed.
Jane McDonald’s fiancé Eddie Rothe died in 2021
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“‘How can I move on?’ is all about hearing his voice on a voicemail and wearing his sweater, just to feel a bit closer to him, then asking, ‘How can I move on?'”
The star has channelled her heartbreak into her eleventh studio record, Living the Dream, which represents a significant personal milestone in her musical career.
The album features nine original compositions alongside four country classics and will be supported by a UK tour later this year.
Ms McDonald admitted that performing certain tracks would prove emotionally challenging, particularly one called Beautiful Soul.
Jane McDonald issued a candid update about her grief journey
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“God knows how I’m going to sing that! I’m going to have to think, ‘I’m the channel for other people,’ and this is for them, to remember their loved ones,” she told the magazine.
The former Loose Women panellist described her live performances as therapeutic experiences that blend emotional moments with lighter entertainment.
“My shows are very emotional, but they’re full of laughter and disco as well. You get a bit of everything. It’s like therapy – and that’s just for me!”
Mr Rothe’s death came three years after Ms McDonald lost her mother Jean, leaving her well acquainted with profound loss.
Jane McDonald has channelled her heartbreak into her eleventh studio record, Living the Dream
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The television personality spoke candidly about how grief remains a constant companion rather than something that fades with time.
“People my age have all joined the club where we’ve lost loved ones. Grief is always going to be there, right at your side, and it doesn’t get any better or easier,” she reflected.
Rather than attempting to overcome her sorrow, Jane has adopted a different approach to living alongside it.
“What you have to do is fill your life with a load of joy, to sit alongside it. I feel like my mum and Ed are still with me because I talk about them all the time,” she explained.
“I’m still full of love from them, and that’s a lovely place to be.”
During the pandemic, Ms McDonald became her fiancé’s full-time carer in his final weeks, a period she has previously described as incredibly difficult without medical support at home.
“I had no nurses or doctors come in. I had to learn how to do it all myself,” she told The Mail, adding that she eventually moved him to Wakefield Hospice where she remained by his side.
His funeral was held under Covid restrictions, which Ms Mcdonald described as “a tragedy, because nobody could come to see him.”
The couple’s love story began when they first met as teenagers at a Wakefield nightclub where Jane worked, though they went their separate ways before reuniting nearly three decades later on the set of This Morning, becoming engaged in 2008.