Kelsey Parker says it's not 'plain sailing' as she finds love after Tom's death
Kelsey Parker may be all smiles with her new boyfriend but underneath, she admits it's not always been so rosy for her.
The actress and dancer thought she'd met her forever partner after bumping into The Wanted singer Tom Parker on a night out. The couple met at a London nightclub in 2009, with Kelsey saying she knew instantly that she would marry Tom.
Fast forward nine years and the pair tied the knot with one another before going on to share two children, Aurelia, three, and Bodhi, two. But in 2020, the couple were left devastated when Tom received the news that he had an inoperable grade IV glioblastoma brain tumour. Tragically, in March 2022, just 18 months after his diagnosis, Tom passed away aged 33.
Just over a year after his death, Kelsey admits that she's now happy and has found love, somebody to make her smile. In September 2022, Kelsey was introduced to Sean Boggans at a wedding in Rhodes – which she's thankful for as she hasn't had to endure the dating process.
Kelsey Parker has opened up about finding love with Sean Boggans following the death of her husband (Instagram/ @being_kelsey)
Kelsey and Tom met in 2009 and married nine years later (Daily Mirror)Speaking to the Mirror, the mum-of-two said: "The situation I'm now, we met through a mutual friend. It's been really tough, it's not all been plain sailing. I have got a lot of baggage as such with me, haven't I? But it's great having someone to be there for me." Over the weekend, Kelsey went public with Sean who she says has helped her get through hard days. Reflecting on the response she received: "I've had amazing support this weekend, I'm so grateful for everyone around me and the people that follow me."
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She added: "I never thought this would be my future. Obviously, I thought I would grow old with Tom and we'd be sat on a little bench at Tower Bridge, eating fish and chips together but that's not happened for us and I do deserve to be happy and it's never going to take away the love for Tom. Tom was my soulmate my everything."
Kelsey has teamed up with Co-op in a bid to address the "elephant in the room" and enable more people to talk openly about death. "People do not want to talk about death, grief and loss," Kelsey said. Throughout Tom's battle and following his death, Kelsey has shared her journey with her social media followers and says that she's doing the "right thing".
Tom tragically died aged 33 in 2022 following an 18 month battle with cancer (ITV)She said: "I know that if I'm talking about it, then I'm opening them conversations up in people's houses that they wouldn't necessarily have. Even when Tom got ill, he needed the support of the fans, and I feel like it was the best thing we ever did by being honest and open. As a couple, we've always been really honest and open about everything."
The star continued: "You're celebrating life as well, you're only here however long you get, so why not make the most of it? The one thing we're guaranteed in this lifetime is we are going to die. Was it taken away from Tom too soon? Yes, absolutely, but who says that's right or wrong? He lived 33 amazing years here.
"He achieved so much, some people don't achieve that in their whole life, they'll get to their 90s and be like 'Oh' but Tom achieved so much. Who says there is a right or wrong time to die?" But praising her late husband, Harry Potter star Kelsey beamed as she said: "He was always so happy, always so full of energy."
Just weeks before his death, Tom and his The Wanted bandmates headed out on a UK tour, his final goodbye to his dedicated fans. At the end of the show, Tom appeared on stage for the last song, Glad You Came. Just days after performing in Liverpool, Tom passed away. But Kelsey was adamant her husband needed to take part in the tour.
Despite his ill-health, Tom found the strength to get on stage and perform for his fans (Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)"For me, it was how did we get him on the tour? That's where he wanted to be and I wanted to be in his happy place, in his book, he ends on the stage and that's how I wanted people to remember him. Whatever dark place you're in, you can get through it. Tom got on that stage and performed in front of all those people because that's what he wanted to do. It's the power of the mind, it's being positive.
"I think we've got such a stigma on, on how we should grieve and what we should talk about. For me, I've always wanted to talk about it. So let's open them conversations, it's opening doors, and let's get people talking." But Kelsey knows she isn't alone as her direct messages are often flooded with messages of support from fans or people on their own cancer journey. Despite her heartache, Kelsey couldn't sit around and mope as she says their two children needed them. "How could I stop? My life needs to continue for them," she said before adding: "Me and the children need to keep Tom's legacy alive."
Despite being such young ages when their famous dad passed away, both Aurelia and Bodhi are constantly reminded of their dad who is "very present" in the family home. "There's pictures of Tom everywhere," Kelsey explained before adding: "There's Tom's belongings, Tom's book, Tom's records. We talk about him daily, the kids will say stuff and I'm like 'Oh you're just so much like your dad'."
While some people can enjoy short family videos of their late loved ones, their two children are fortunate enough to have hours of interviews and performances to watch of their late dad. Reflecting on this, Kelsey said: "The fact that they can see mine and Tom's relationship as well as, you know, a married couple and also a young couple trying to get through life. They've got so much and that's why you know, they're in a fortunate position because of that, because they have got the pictures, the memories, some children don't have that.
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Kelsey keeps the memory of Tom alive in their home, with pictures, his book and records (Kelsey Parker/Instagram)
The dancer gushed over her late husband, saying he will always be her 'soulmate' (Kelsey Parker/Instagram)"The songs will never go, they've always got their dad's voice, their dad's songs and their dad's music." Despite meeting Tom at such a young age and him having millions of young female followers, Kelsey was lucky to receive a warm response from his fans when their relationship became official.
"Everyone was actually quite positive towards me," she stated before continuing: "Maybe it's what I give out but I didn't really get a lot of hate and I absolutely loved the girls. I created my performing arts school through the fans. I used to go around and do these positivity workshops. I feel like when I was in my 20s and I was doing these positivity workshops, I didn't realise how much I would need them now. I'm very spiritual now and everything happened for a reason, I was so lucky, I loved the whole fanbase and the guys had the most incredible fans."
Later this week, Kelsey will release her debut memoir, With and Without You, documenting the past 18 months since losing her soulmate. Discussing the project, she said: "It's been the best therapy I possibly could have done. From the moment Tom got diagnosed, it was like how do we move forward? And for me when they were telling me that you know, the standard of care for brain tumours hadn't changed in 30 years and all he was gonna receive was his chemo and radio, it made me fight so hard for him and his life.
"I think that those 18 months were just like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, then Tom passed away. It was like 'How do I move forward now without him?' and it's keep ing that positivity and that momentum going."
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