Tom Parker‘s widow, Kelsey, has said their young children, Aurelia and Bodhi still make Father’s Day cards for him.
The Wanted singer passed away aged 33 in March 2022 following an 18-month battle with stage four glioblastoma brain cancer.
Kelsey, 33, has remained open and honest as she navigate life after his death with their children Aurelia, four, and Bodhi, three.
Sharing an update to Instagram on Sunday, the kids could be seen proudly holding up Father’s Day cards.
She explained: ‘Today is such a difficult day for so many. Look at this picture of happiness, you’d never think in a million years these happy, proud children are growing up without their Dad, the most heartbreaking situation for me and my family, like so many others up and down the country.’
Tom Parker ‘s widow, Kelsey, has said their young children, Aurelia, four, and Bodhi, three, still make Father’s Day cards for him
The Wanted singer passed away aged 33 in March 2022 following an 18-month battle with stage four glioblastoma brain cancer
Kelsey continued: Father’s Day will never be the same without you, life will never be the same without you Tom.
‘I need you so much right now as I’m facing big (and daily little) decisions about Rae and Bo and their futures and I just want to know what you’d think and what you want me to do.
‘Please keep guiding us. I’m so grateful for every little sign and to know these kids are so loved by us all. I know you never leave their side. Here’s to celebrating you and all the Dads that deserve to be celebrated today.
‘Today is all about you Tom. Our annual charity football match all in your name and in your honour. A huge thank you to our celebrity players, Scott our MC and everyone who has dedicated the last few months to planning this hugely important charity event.
‘To everyone coming down and supporting us today, a massive thank you. Making this event a big success is so important to us. We want Tommy to feel our love on this special day.
‘So let’s bring the joy, the love, the generosity. We have lots of children and families affected by brain tumours joining us today and we want to make it special for them as well as raising lots of money to help beat this awful disease.
‘We hope we make you proud Tom. Happy Father’s Day to the best Daddy. You may not have got the chance to kick a ball with Bodhi and I’ll never understand how or why that opportunity was taken from us, but I’m just going to stay focused on the fact you’ll watch every single game the boy ever plays and you’ll be sprinkling your gold dust on him every time.’
She added in an interview with The Mirror: ‘Coming up to Father’s Day it is hard. Their teachers asked me, “Are they OK to make cards in class?” and I said, “Yes, we’ll celebrate their dad.”‘
Kelsey has remained open and honest as she navigate life after his death with their children Aurelia, four, and Bodhi, three
She explained: ‘Today is such a difficult day for so many.The most heartbreaking situation for me and my family, like so many others up and down the country’
Kelsey added: ‘We put their Father’s Day cards on the side and we look at them, exactly the same as we do on Mother’s Day.’
For the second year running, she will host the the Tom Parker Charity Football Match at Bromley Football Club in an attempt to tackle the lack of funding given to research for the killer disease.
She hopes the event can help her two young children ‘remember and celebrate’ their dad, as she doesn’t want them to ‘feel sadness’.
Speaking ahead of the two-year anniversary since his death, Kelsey told MailOnline: ‘March is such a difficult month for us as a family. I can’t actually believe that in just a couple of weeks it will be two years since we lost Tom.
‘It’s so strange as some days I feel like it only happened yesterday, and then on others I feel like so much time has gone by since we last saw him and it just breaks my heart. I think about him every single day and that won’t ever change.’
Last year, Kelsey launched a charity football match in Tom’s honour, which took place on Father’s Day, and she was delighted to announce that a second one will be taking place on this year’s Father’s Day – June 16. Kelsey’s sponsor is James Ryan from Grove Gallery who did the event last year
Kelsey said: ‘One thing I promised myself and Tom was to continue his legacy. Brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer.
‘That is more than leukaemia, prostate and breast cancer, yet the government only gives brain tumour research 1 per cent of its funding.
‘More needs to be done and I feel like when Tom passed he handed the baton over to me to continue raising awareness and funding.
‘We can’t keep losing our children, husbands, wives, parents, brothers and sisters to this cancer.
‘So, as part of Tom’s legacy, we will be holding a second charity football match in his honour this Father’s Day. It’s a great way for Rae and Bo to remember and celebrate their dad, I don’t want them to feel sadness.
Last year, Kelsey launched a charity football match in Tom’s honour, which took place on Father’s Day, and she was delighted to announce that a second one would take place this year (pictured in June 2023)
Brothers Ryan and Scott Thomas, X Factor’s Jake Quickenden, and Love Island’s Nathan Massey were among the stars who supported Kelsey in 2023
‘The money raised will go back into research and to help families like mine who have lost a loved one.
‘We’ve had so much celebrity support and interest already and I can’t wait to start revealing who will be taking part in this year’s line up.’
Brothers Ryan and Scott Thomas, X Factor’s Jake Quickenden and Love Island’s Nathan Massey were among the stars who supported Kelsey last year.
100% of the proceeds raised from the game will be donated to brain tumour charity’s Ahead of The Game – which helps fund lifesaving treatment and support affected families.
The charity invests in cancer sufferers and their families providing rehabilitation, mental and emotional support as well as financial help.