Death and grief affects everybody, regardless of social status or wealth. Many people in the public eye have been bereaved, even famous superstars and members of the Royal family. If you’ve lost a loved one, it can help to know that other people have been through the pain, and those with a public platform can give advice to those currently suffering.
It can also help to seek out celebrities who have lost loved ones in the same way. For example, Prince William and Prince Harry lost their mother in a tragic car accident, which was a sudden and unexpected death. Many people go through a terminal illness with their loved one, such as cancer, which can be a different heart-breaking experience.
Here are some words of wisdom by well-known personalities who have opened up about grief. Remember that there is no right or wrong way to deal with grief, and losing someone close to you is one of the most challenging things you will ever go through.
Rio Ferdinand
Ex-footballer Rio Ferdinand has opened up about losing his wife Rebecca from breast cancer, when she was aged just 34. The couple had three children together, and he found it extremely difficult to mourn his wife and help his children through the grief at the same time. He took part in a BBC documentary where he opened up about the ordeal.
Rio said: “My children need to see me talk and show emotion. Talking doesn’t make the pain go away but it does help.”
Prince Harry
The whole world grieved for Princess Diana when she was killed in a car crash in 1997, but perhaps nobody was more affected than her two sons, William and Harry who were just 15 and 12. Prince Harry has admitted to receiving counselling about his grief as he was still struggling with it in his late 20s.
In interviews the Prince has opened up and said: “It was 20 years of not thinking about it and then two years of total chaos. I couldn’t put my finger on it, I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I still have shock within me…you never get over it. It’s such an unbelievably big moment in your life that it never leaves you, you just learn to deal with it.”
Lea Michele
The Glee actress lost her boyfriend and co-star Corey Monteith back in 2013. Speaking out on The Ellen Show, she said, “I think at a certain point you can choose to sort of fall from this, or you can choose to rise. And that’s what I’m just trying to do.”
A whole host of celebrities including Rio Ferdinand have taken part in the One More Minute video filmed by Child Bereavement UK. Watch it here.