Simon Thomas breaks silence on finding love again after wife's tragic death

10 December 2018, 15:25 | Updated: 1 April 2019, 08:11

Former TV presenter Simon Thomas has found love a year after he tragically lost his wife to cancer, just three days after she was diagnosed.

Simon Thomas, 45, has opened up about finding love after suffering the heartache of losing his wife, Gemma, to acute myeloid leukaemia a year ago at the age of 40.

The former TV presenter, who quit his duties to focusing on raising his nine-year-old son Ethan, told Loose Women that he didn't expect enter a new relationship so early, but 'just wants to be happy again'.

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A post shared by Simon Thomas (@simonjthomassky) on Aug 28, 2018 at 4:43am PDT

He told the Loose Women panel: "It's early stages but you have to try and find some kind of life again.

"I just think you've have two choices when people go through something like this; you ether give up on life and remain in a cave - and for some people, if that's what they want to do that's fine - it's not for any of us to judge.

READ MORE: Jeff Brazier offers advice for widower Simon Thomas

"I just want to be happy again... and I know Gemma would want that too."

He added: "I didn’t expect to be in a relationship this early, I really didn't, but when it comes you think well why not, why can’t I be happy?"

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A year since . . . . • Your last breath was taken and cancer took a life half lived. • You flashed that smile and said ‘hello darl.’ • You last kissed your boy goodnight. • I last got to kiss you goodnight. • You pulled that trademark roll of your eyes. • That infectious laugh was heard. • Our boy cried Mummy and heard a reply. • We enjoyed another of your amazing dishes. • I waved you goodbye at the garden gate on the way to work. • Your Mum could ring her Gems and say ‘hi’ and lovely Bec’s could say ‘hello Sis.’ • The Preosecco fizzed on a Friday night with special friends round the table. • You bought another blue jumper that looked like the last. A year on . . . . . A year when everything changed and all our dreams were rearranged. A year when life’s certainties fell away, twelve months of pain almost every day. A year when at times the darkness closed in; but somehow we never quite let it win. A year when hope felt short in supply, times when we had no will left to try. A year when at times God felt so distant but He never left our side for an instant. But somehow with time comes the will to carry on, times when the light really felt like it shone. The fight from my boy kept me trying, always stood by with a hug when I was crying. The love of friends and our family’s support has meant when we were falling we were always caught. Grief never ends it has no final destination, it’s the price we pay for love’s saturation. Gems we love you. Yesterday, today and forever. xx

A post shared by Simon Thomas (@simonjthomassky) on Nov 23, 2018 at 5:11pm PST

When asked by the Loose Women team how he managed to keep going through the dark times, he responded: "Because I have to, because a 9 year old boy keeps you going."

Simon also revealed that his son Ethan went back to school a week after he'd lost his mum, in order to try and inject some normality back into his life.

However, Simon admitted that it was a tough transition for Ethan to have to adjust to.

He explained: "For him going to school was such a lonely experience, he would say ‘No kids in my class have been through this they don’t know understand its like not to have a mummy any more’.

"He sees mums all the times and is presented every day with the same reality that he’s never ever going to see his mum at a school gate ever again."

In order to raise more awareness about blood cancer, Simon teased that he is planning to embark on some sponsored activities next year.