Deidre Sanders opened up about the death of her beloved husband during the This Morning phone-in today, and was comforted by hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley.
The star heartbreakingly revealed that her husband had died when she appeared on This Morning from a segment from her home back in January 2023.
His death came shortly after Deidre discovered she’d be receiving at MBE from King Charles in his New Year Honours List.
Deidre Sanders on losing her husband
Following her husband Rick’s death in December 2022, Deirdre appeared on This Morning and shared the sad news.
She told hosts Josie Gibson and Andi Peters: “A special thing for me was, a lot of you know my husband died just before Christmas on December 16th. But this call came through about a week before he died so that was really special. I could share it with him and say what had happened,” she said of the news about her MBE.
Our beloved agony aunt Deidre, who has helped countless callers on This Morning, has been awarded an MBE for services to charity and mental health.
She joins us to share her reaction to finding out and why the timing was so special to her. pic.twitter.com/iAzBIjaQxz
— This Morning (@thismorning) January 3, 2023
“I was with Rick for 55 years, so that was really great. He was always a great tease so he had to get in a few digs first. But he did the next day tell my daughter and tell me just how proud he was, so that made it extra, extra special.”
Andi told her: “We are so sorry for your loss, we really are.” Josie then added: “We’re so glad you got to tell him.”
Earlier today (March 18), Deidre was consoled by new hosts Ben and Cat. Her upset came after a call from a viewer struggling with the death of his partner.
‘I’ve been through the same thing myself’
Earlier today, Deidre joined Ben and Cat for the phone-in. Among the callers was Allan, a 62 year old from Dorset, who has been finding life tough since his husband Keith in 2023.
Allan reminisced about the “laughter” that always filled their home when Keith was alive, and how he’s found it “hard” adjusting to solitude.
Deidre told him she knows how he’s feeling as she still struggles with the loss of her husband Rick.
“I obviously completely empathise with that because I’ve been through the same thing myself. I really do sympathise, Allan,” she said. The TV agony aunt then added: “I do know how hard it is when you’ve lost a partner, particularly one that made you laugh a lot. Mine did too.”
Deidre’s tears
Deidre then opened up about her own experiences of loneliness and was seen wiping away a tear.
Ben then chipped in. He shared: “I think one of the things as well, Deidre you can probably speak to this much better me, but reaching out and telling people that you’re feeling a bit lonely is a really important step.”
“It is,” she responded. “I think often friends, especially if you’ve been widowed, they feel awkward and don’t know what to say. I think it’s really important to ring somebody up and say: ‘I could do with a chat.'”
As Deidre wiped away a tear, Cat moved on to the next caller.
Read more: Patrick Kielty reveals struggles with This Morning presenter wife Cat Deeley
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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