Jonnie Irwin explains why he hasn’t told sons about his terminal cancer: ‘Let’s bury our heads in the sand’
Jonnie Irwin has opened up about why he hasn’t told his three children that he has terminal cancer. The A Place in the Sun presenter, 49, publicly revealed his diagnosis in November 2022 after his lung cancer spread to his brain. However, his young sons, who he shares with wife Jessica Holmes, do not know that their father is dying. Irwin says it would be difficult for them to understand his situation at this age: his eldest son Rex is four-and-a-half, while twins Rafa and Cormac are turning three this month. In a new interview with Hello! magazine ahead of Father’s Day, Irwin said: “I keep being asked, ‘Are you going to tell them?’ but tell them what? “It would be horrible news that they’d have to get their heads around. And it would confuse the hell out of Rex – he’s got a shocking enough day coming. Let’s bury our heads in the sand for as long as possible.” In the meantime, Irwin and Holmes are trying to give their children a sense of normalcy by continuing to teach and play with them. Holmes described the presenter as a “great dad and a big kid himself”, adding: “All the boys gravitate to him when they want to show off and get his attention. They’re aware that Jonnie needs his rest and can’t always jump up and play football for hours, but they’re more than happy snuggled up on the sofa, watching a movie. “Story time is a big thing at bedtime and that is something I know Jonnie treasures with them.” In November, when Irwin first revealed his diagnosis, he said Rex “doesn’t need to know” about his illness yet. “We make fun of my hair – he calls it my ‘spiky head’ – but as far as he’s concerned, his dad is normal and why would I shatter that innocence?” Earlier this month, Irwin was admitted to hospital to be “monitored” as his treatment continues. He shared in an Instagram post that he was admitted to keep an eye on a “changeover in my pain management regime”. In an appearance on the OneChat podcast by insurer AIG Life, Irwin said he had been close to dying “at least twice”. “You lose your memory, you lose your patience. I have got a very short temper. It’s not made me a better person, that’s for sure,” he admitted. However, Irwin emphasised that he prefers to think of his situation as “living with cancer, rather than dying from cancer”. Read More A Place In The Sun’s Jonnie Irwin admitted to hospital amid terminal diagnosis Jonnie Irwin says he’s been ‘close to death’s door twice, at least’ Jonnie Irwin says going public with terminal cancer diagnosis was day he began ‘living again’
2023-06-12 14:47
Sharon Horgan says she has PTSD from daughter’s health scare
Sharon Horgan has opened up about having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after her eldest daughter was diagnosed with meningitis as a baby. The Irish actor, who will star in the forthcoming BBC One drama Best Interests with Michael Sheen, said she drew on the experience in order to play her character in the new series. Horgan’s daughter survived the life-threatening illness, but it left an “aftershock” on her mother. “We were so unbelievably lucky and we know that,” the Bad Sisters star told The Times in a new interview, published today (Sunday 11 June). “But the aftershock – there’s definitely PTSD and I dealt with any of my second daughter’s illnesses with blind panic because you always think, ‘If it can happen, why couldn’t it happen again?’” Both of Horgan’s daughters, Sadhbh and Amer, are now teenagers. She shares them with her ex-husband, Jeremy Rainbird. Best Interests tells the story of Nicci (Horgan), a mother who sues the NHS after doctors decide her Marnie (Niamh Moriarty) should be taken off life support after her condition, muscular dystrophy, deteriorates. Horgan stars opposite Sheen, who plays Nicci’s husband Andrew. In the show, Andrew is torn between his love for Marnie and his unwillingness to support his wife’s case. The friction between Nicci and Andrew shows that they “had a real relationship that has difficulties”, Horgan said. “When things get really, really bad, the accusations are there, a certain amount of finger-pointing, which happens anyway, just even in normal parenting,” she explained. After her divorce from Rainbird in 2019, Horgan said the adjustment to co-parenting made her doubt if she was a good mother. During an appearance on Desert Island Discs in 2020, she told host Lauren Laverne: “I was fun mum for years. I entirely thought that was my role but that changes when you co-parent. “Everything changes and you take on a lot more roles and I am much more practical than I was, and I think that is a positive thing.” She continued: “It had some dips in the middle where I thought, ‘Oh, that thing I thought I was, which was a good mother, I am not entirely sure about’. “When you bring anything like that into your kid’s life it’s tricky, when you turn the roles upside down, but it balances out and everything eased back.” Read More Shapewear is booming, and body image experts are worried: ‘It’s really dangerous’ Chris Hemsworth thanks wife Elsa Pataky for her ‘forgiveness’ Kelis addresses Bill Murray dating rumours for the first time Sharon Horgan opens up about ‘aftershock’ after daughter’s meningitis Jamie Foxx’s rep addresses conspiracy Covid vaccine left actor ‘paralyzed and blind’ Debate sparker over parent who wouldn’t give her daughter any birthday cake
2023-06-12 14:24
Novo Nordisk Plans $2.3 Billion Manufacturing Expansion in Denmark
Novo Nordisk A/S is spending 15.9 billion Danish kroner ($2.29 billion) to expand production facilities in Denmark as
2023-06-12 14:21
Wales adoptees hope to break taboo of identity struggle
A podcast featuring Welsh adoptees aims to tackle myths about adoption.
2023-06-12 13:54
Novartis Agrees to Buy Chinook for Up to $3.5 Billion
Novartis AG agreed to buy Chinook Therapeutics Inc. for as much as $3.5 billion to add two promising
2023-06-12 13:49
China’s Covid-Positive Test Rate Jumped to 40% Last Month
China was walloped by a Covid-19 resurgence in May, with a positive test rate nearing the peak seen
2023-06-12 12:17
Qatar’s Top Dealmakers Get Ready for a Spending Power Boost
Qatar is targeting more investment in new frontiers and sectors like technology and health care, as high demand
2023-06-12 12:15
Heat vs. Nuggets prediction and odds for NBA Finals Game 5 (Denver wins title in blowout)
The Nuggets are one win away from the organization's first NBA Championship, and oddsmakers are prepared for Monday night to be the night.Denver enters as massive favorites in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at home, where the team has lost one game all postseason. After winning both games in Miam...
2023-06-12 06:18
Esoteric Fines Pile Up as China’s Provinces Hunt for Revenue
China’s indebted local governments are using a controversial way to generate revenue as they struggle to pay bills:
2023-06-12 05:17
Conor McGregor sends Miami Heat mascot to hospital following punch during mid-game skit, per report
A punch from UFC star Conor McGregor sent the Miami Heat's mascot, Burnie, to the emergency room of a local hospital during the NBA Finals on Friday, according to The Athletic.
2023-06-12 05:16
Pope skips Sunday blessing, recovering normally from surgery
By Remo Casilli and Roberto Mignucci ROME (Reuters) -Pope Francis did not deliver his Sunday blessing in public but his
2023-06-11 22:51
Investors rethink recession plays, boosting U.S. stock market laggards
By David Randall NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. stocks rally is showing signs of expanding beyond the cluster of giant
2023-06-11 21:21