Adam Henson secretly got married during the coronavirus pandemic, but he was battling some devastating family news behind closed doors.
The Countryfile star revealed his wife Charlie was diagnosed with stage one pancreatic cancer after falling ill over Christmas 2020. "I knew that this type of cancer had a very low survival rate – just five per cent," she told The Telegraph in a joint interview with her husband.
That's what prompted her to seize the opportunity to get married in front of their loved ones, including their two children Ella and Alfie, the day before her "massive" operation. The couple revealed that Charlie’s mum and sisters booked the first available date for their wedding, which took place on 9 September 2021 at Stroud Register Office.
That required delaying Charlie's appointment to undergo the Whipple procedure, which sees surgeons remove the wide part of the pancreas, the gall bladder and part of the duodenum.
"We put the date of the operation back by a week because of our wedding. The consultant said that one week would make little difference, and I’m so glad we did. It was the most wonderful day," Adam said.
"Charlie wore an ivory dress and looked beautiful. When I saw her walking in on the arm of her mum, I had to struggle to hold it together. Everyone knew that she was going into hospital the next day and it was very emotional. But we also tried very hard not to think of what was hanging over us," he added, explaining the wedding was a "distraction" for the family.
The TV star said they "cried a lot" on their big day. "Those vows cemented my emotions and let me say from the heart how I feel about Charlie. The registrar wasn’t aware of our situation and said she’d never had such an emotional couple. For us, it was a way of saying goodbye to everyone," he told The Mirror.
Photos show Adam wearing a blue suit with a grey waistcoat as he held hands with his beautiful bride, who wore an elegant white column dress with a matching jacket layered over the top. Wild blue and purple flowers made up her bouquet while a white headband secured her straight blonde bob away from her face.
Recalling the reason she wanted to exchange vows following their long-term relationship, Charlie said to The Telegraph: "We had been together for many years and had never felt we needed to marry: for me, having children with Adam was our commitment to each other. A wedding had never been important. Now, suddenly, it was the most important thing in the world.
"It’s ridiculous but I really, really wanted everyone to know how much I love Adam; most importantly, I wanted him to know. It was suddenly such a big thing."
The procedure was successful and Charlie spent three days in intensive care before starting her recovery, which Adam said is "ongoing" today, two years later.
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