10 January 2024 , 10:07
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Jane McDonald tragically lost her beloved soulmate Walter ‘Eddie’ Rothe in 2021, after 13 years together.
The TV star had first met Eddie when she was just a teenager, and after losing touch with The Searchers drummer they were reunited decades later. They were re-introduced to each other and the spark was still there. Eddie proposed to Jane on Christmas Eve, with Jane admitting it felt like "destiny".
However, the couple never got the chance to say 'I do' after the devastating diagnosis of a terminal illness. Jane shared the news the musician and her soulmate had passed away aged 67 after suffering from lung cancer ‘for the last few months’. Here's a look at their decades-long love story...
Jane and Eddie were reunited decades after their teenage romance (Joanne Davidson/REX/Shutterstock)
The couple were faced with a devastating diagnosis in 2021 (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)Teenage romance
Jane and Eddie first met in 1980 when the presenter was just 17-years-old. The pair met when she worked at a furniture store in Wakefield, West Yorkshire and worked in a pub on the side. Ed's pop band Liquid Gold played a gig there after just having a number two single, Dance Yourself Dizzy.
Of their early romance, Jane told The Mirror back in 2012: "I couldn’t believe it when the owner said the drummer had taken a fancy to me. I was startled. He was a gorgeous pop star and I was a naive teenager from Yorkshire. But we went out for about 18 months." However, Jane said that she was too young, "shy" and "prim and proper" to enjoy the rock 'n' roll lifestyle of Ed.
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"One day, I just got in my car and left. We never finished, never fell out. I drove away never expecting to see him again," she revealed. The Loose Women star focused on her music career as she became a cruise ship singer and TV personality.
A chance meeting
Jane went on to have two marriages before meeting Ed again by chance. She was working on Loose Women while Ed was going an appearance nearby with The Searchers on This Morning in May 2008. Jane admitted: "I almost had to be dragged to see him. But then it was, Oh my God! Big smiles and he lifted me off the floor and said, ‘Where have you been?’
"It felt right but it was difficult to find time with each other – The Searchers had 250 dates a year and I was doing 100 concerts. But we didn't want to miss out again, so Eddie quit the group." She said it felt like "something of destiny" to be back with Eddie and that they both felt so lucky. They got engaged on Christmas Eve in 2008, but tragically never had the time to say 'I do'.
Tragic death
Jane and Eddie first met in the early 1980s and dated for around 18 months before losing contact (Collect Unknown)Eddie sadly died in March 2021. Jane's official Twitter account posted a selfie of her and Ed and wrote: "Announcement 1/2: "It is with immense sadness that we share the news that Jane’s beloved long term partner, Ed, passed away on Friday 26th March. He had been battling lung cancer for the last few months. We would like to thank everyone for all their help and support...
"Announcement 2/2: ...during this very difficult time, especially the NHS staff and the wonderful team at The Wakefield Hospice. The funeral took place earlier today and we would please ask for your kindness in observing Jane’s privacy for her and Ed’s family at this sad time."
Support from friends
Amid her grief, Jane's Celebrity Gogglebox co-star and long-time friend Sue Ravey moved in with her after Eddie's sad passing. The singer and TV star has said that having the company of her dear friend has been exactly what she has needed. "It helped keep the grief at bay," she shared.
"I tend to grieve in private. But you can't always be sure when it's going to strike. Your emotions can ambush you. I do shed the occasional tear and especially at new year. That's when it hits me." Despite her grief, Jane insists she 'refuses to be sad' most of the time as she believes that if Eddie and her late mum Jean were looking down on her, they wouldn't want her to be consumed by sadness. "I still talk to both of them in my head," she told OK! Magazine.
Jane has also reflected on her last weeks with Eddie as she became his full time carer. She told The Mail: "It wasn’t slow, because we didn’t know. He had no symptoms. As daft as it sounds, I’m thankful it was during Covid because I was there with him. Nobody else was. But that was the hardest thing. I had no nurses or doctors come in."