Annabel Croft has been lauded by This Morning fans as she bravely opened up on living with grief.
Former tennis professional Annabel, 57, tragically lost her husband of 36 years, Mel Coleman, in May last year. Since then, Croft has been bravely carrying on and trying to live her life, while living without her caring husband, who passed away from stomach cancer.
Croft joined Craig Doyle and Josie Gibson on This Morning on Tuesday (February 20) as part of a phone-in on living with grief. During the phone-in, several callers expressed their heartbreak after their loved ones had passed away, leaving them bereft and unable to cope.
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However, Annabel – together with resident This Morning agony aunt Deidre Sanders – was there to give callers a helping hand to help them know they were not alone. She also bravely opened up on how the grief has been so painful for her, she has not even collected her husband’s ashes yet.
(Image: ITV)
As the first caller Joan told of her despair at losing her husband, she mentioned that she had not picked her former partner’s ashes from the crematorium yet. Annabel empathised with her, explaining: “Joan, I’m so sorry for your loss and I can feel your pain and I’m going through the same thing as you, but you’re even more recent.
“And if it’s any consolation, I have not picked up my husband’s ashes yet and I’m, what, eight or nine months in,” she added. “It was just the finality of knowing that my husband, who was such a vibrant person and character with such a great sense of humour, was suddenly going to be in this urn or box – and I just couldn’t do it.”
Strictly star Annabel added that there are times when she still drives past the crematorium and debates whether to pick the ashes up, but cannot bring herself to do it. She also paid tribute to Joan, who proceeded to break down during the phone in, saying that she was “with her” when it came to feeling the rawest form of grief there is.
(Image: ITV)
Annabel also offered advice to a number of other callers, including one who had tragically lost their 19-year-old child. Croft said that while she could not begin to imagine the pain it must trigger for someone to lose their child, she commended the caller for continuing to talk to her daughter, to help keep her memory alive.
Whilst the heart-breaking phone-in was taking place, viewers were in tears as so many brave people shared their stories of loss. Many others praised Annabel for her openness and honesty, with many calling on her to be a new agony aunt on the show.
One user took to social media to write: “Annabel is doing an amazing job, she’s so empathetic.” Whilst a second viewer added: “Annabel is so so lovely, bless her – so sorry for her and anyone else who is dealing with grief!”
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
A third fan penned: “This is so heartbreaking, Annabel is just so lovely when talking to everyone.” With a fourth account saying: “Annabel is doing such a good job here!”
At the end of the phone-in, Craig and Josie thanked Croft for coming on the show to help with the phone-in, saying she was “strong” for doing so. Annabel added that she was thankful to have her family help her through the day, and offered one more piece of advice – to make sure that people can still smile and laugh after experiencing loss.
This Morning airs every weekday at 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
