One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson has revealed the devastating moment his beloved mum Joannah Deakin told him her cancer was terminal.
The mum-of-seven lost her battle with leukaemia last December.
She told her pop star son that she was not going to survive while he was at the wedding of footballer Jamie Vardy and his wife Rebekah.
Speaking to The Observer, the 25-year-old said: “At [the wedding], of all places. Talk about something super-traumatic; my mum told me that she was definitely terminal,” Louis told the Observer Magazine .
In the touching interview, he spoke of just how close he was to his mum, revealing she knew his email password and she was the first person he told when he lost his virginity.
He explained: “I hadn’t even told any of my mates and I was, like: ‘Mum? I know this is really weird, but I’ve got to tell you…’ I remember thinking this is a bizarre conversation to be having with your mother.
“But it’s testament to how comfortable she made me.”
Johannah was just 42 when she passed away.
As well as eldest child Louis, she left behind Lottie, 18, Felicite, 16, twins Daisy and Phoebe, 12, and twins Ernest and Doris, aged two.
One of Johannah’s dying wishes was that her son go ahead with a planned performance on The X Factor just days later – his first as a solo artist; Louis did so as a tribute to her, moving even Simon Cowell to tears.
In a statement released at the time of her death, midwife Johannah’s husband Dan Deakin said: “It is with immeasurable sadness that Johannah Deakin’s family said goodbye to Johannah in the early hours of Wednesday 7th December 2016.
“Earlier this year Johannah was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leukaemia that required immediate and continuous treatment.
“We respectfully request that the family are given time and space to grieve in private.”
“Johannah was first and foremost a truly amazing mother to seven children – Louis (24), Lottie (18), Félicité (16), and two sets of twins, Phoebe and Daisy (12) and Ernest and Doris (2) – whose individual talents and success are testament to the principles and beliefs she instilled in them.
“She was also an incredibly proud grandmother to Freddie.
“Incredibly selfless, she would always look to put other people before herself. She desired nothing more than for everyone around her to be happy and loving.
“She worked tirelessly on numerous charity campaigns, creating memories for many individuals and their families.
“It wasn’t uncommon for Johannah to hear through the media of an individual in need of assistance, and she would immediately make it her objective to get that person what they often desperately needed, and rarely without success.
“These are the things that made Johannah happy and content in life, and all of which for me made her simply the perfect wife and best friend to face each day with.
“I thoroughly loved walking through life with her, and though five years was far too short a time, during that time we had so many lifetimes worth of happiness, adventures, and memories.
“We would like to send our sincere thanks to Professor Steve Mackinnon and his team at University College London Hospital where Johannah was hospitalised since May.
“And during the last few weeks Professor John Snowden and his colleagues at Royal Hallamshire Hospital Sheffield.”