It’s hard to believe five years have passed since Tara Palmer-Tomkinson’s shock death.
Tara, often known as TPT in the media, was found dead at her home in London on February 8 2017. She was 45 years old.
She was known for being a socialite and wrote about her party-girl antics in The Sunday Times.
How did Tara Palmer-Tomkinson die?
Tara was found dead at her South Kensington home. Reports say it was her cleaner who made the discovery.
Her death was said to be unexplained but not suspicious. Tara had battled with drug and alcohol addictions and many people assumed this was how she died.
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It was also wrongly reported that she died of a brain tumour.
Tara’s sister, Santa Montifiore, ended speculation by announcing the cause of death on Twitter.
She wrote: “Today the coroner’s report states that Tara died of natural causes – a perforated ulcer. She did not have a brain tumour.”
Did Tara Palmer-Tomkinson have a brain tumour?
As her sister stated, Tara didn’t have a brain tumour. The rumour came about as in November 2016 , Tara revealed she had been diagnosed with prolactinoma.
This condition is caused by a benign tumour on the pituitary gland, which is at the base of the brain. She said she’d been diagnosed with the condition in January 2016, and treatment had been successful.
Pituitary tumours aren’t brain tumours and, according to The Pituitary Foundation, can exist for years without symptoms and some don’t produce symptoms at all.
Tara had also been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition around the same time.
Was Tara Palmer-Tomkinson a drug addict?
Tara battled with addictions during the 90s and 00s.
In 1999 she made her now infamous appearance on The Frank Skinner Show where she was seen slurring her words and rambling.
In clips on YouTube she can be seen displaying bizarre behaviour, unable to sit still and even shouting at the audience.
Following this worrying, Tara’s struggle with cocaine became public knowledge and she went into rehab for treatment.
Then in 2006 she made headlines again when her septum (the piece of cartilage which separates the nostrils) collapsed due to her addiction. She had cosmetic surgery to have it rebuilt after photos appeared in British tabloids.
Speaking about her addiction, Tara had confessed that it had almost cost her her life. She said: “I was a dead woman walking. I needed help, or I knew I was going to die.”
A friend of Tara’s revealed to The Sun that she also suffered with painful holes in her mouth from cocaine abuse.
Henry Conway, who had been friends with Tara for more than a decade, said: “After her nose had collapsed, she developed holes in her mouth and she had a lot of problems eating.”
He went on to say that Tara had become almost reclusive in the months leading up to her death, but had beaten her addiction.
“This was the girl who used to go out seven days a week. She was clean from drugs, but she seemed to be fighting a constant battle. Yet she was searching for some kind of deep affection.”
Henry, who appeared on celeb ski-show The Jump, also claimed TPT was suffering from bipolar disorder and was open about it within her friendship groups.
What was Tara Palmer-Tomkinson famous for?
TPT was a socialite and party girl, with royal connections.
The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles was her godfather.
She was a guest at his wedding to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and at Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s. She was often papped on ski holidays with Charles and the boys.
Her column in The Sunday Times, which documented her party lifestyle, was popular and Tara quickly became one of the UK’s original IT girls.
She was a regular in gossip columns and even once graced the cover of Tatler.
Tara also became a reality TV star after appearing on the first-ever series of I’m A Celebrity in 2002. She finished second, showing her popularity with the public.
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She went on to present three series of I’m A Celeb spin-off, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here NOW on ITV2.
Tara wrote two novels, Inheritance and Infidelity. She also co-authored a non-fiction book with Sharon Marshall called The Naughty Girl’s Guide To Life.
Who was Tara Palmer-Tomkinson’s husband?
Tara didn’t marry but she certainly had a colourful love life which kept tabloids busy. And she was once engaged to Kris Thykier, who is now wed to Claudia Winkleman.
She dated Duncan James from Blue between 2008 and 2009. The pair stayed close friends after they split.
Singer Robbie Williams is another of Tara’s famous conquests.
She said of the sometimes-Take That star: “For everything that was on the surface, in reality our relationship was just chicken and sweetcorn soup, sitting at home, watching a movie and going to bed pretty early.”
James Blunt and Sid ‘Ricky Butcher’ Owen were two more of her former flames.
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