Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were reduced to tears as Simon Thomas bravely appeared on This Morning on Tuesday to talk about the death of his wife. Simon spoke candidly about how Gemma had passed away just three days after she was diagnosed with leukaemia in November last year, at the age of 40. And Holly had tears streaming down her face as the bereaved father-of-one revealed how he had told the couple's eight-year-old son that his mother had died. "All the way back [from the hospital], my heart was pounding. He [Ethan] went in to see her twice that day. I didn't tell Ethan she was going. I said, 'Mummy is seriously ill' and I held him close to her ear a couple of times and he said he loved her. And then he went to play with his cousins."
© Photo: ITVSimon Thomas bravely spoke about his wife's death in a heartbreaking interview on This Morning
Simon continued: "I thought I've got to tell him, so I took him upstairs and looked into his deep brown eyes and said, 'Ethan, I'm really sorry – they couldn't make Mummy better'. And I couldn't dress it up. I said, 'Mummy's died'. He collapsed on the floor and I did too, and I just held him. I rolled on the floor with him. I would never ever wish that on my worst enemy."
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Hosts Holly and Phillip had to pause the interview to try and regain their composure, and were seen wiping away their tears with tissues as they listened to Simon's heartbreaking account. At one point, Holly even apologised to the Sky Sports host, saying: "I'm sorry, you shouldn’t be having to comfort me as well." Later on in the interview, Phillip became visibly emotional as he told Simon: "When you do feel ready to go back to work, let us know and we'll do whatever we can."
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Simon also spoke about his last night with Gemma, and recalled: "The night before out close friends came round and prayed with her, and all the results looked promising." But he said later that night, Gemma became more confused and he had to help her to the bathroom. "I put her back to bed at half four and that was the last time I spoke to her," 45-year-old Simon said. "I never had the chance to say goodbye."
