Take That star Gary Barlow has opened up in a heartbreaking interview about the stillbirth of his daughter Poppy in 2012. The 47-year-old singer and songwriter discussed his family's tragic experience with Lauren Laverne on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, saying: "For anyone who has been through anything like this I think it’s something you accept you’re going to be dealing with the rest of your life." He continued: "In a strange way you don’t want it to end because it’s one of the few things you have to remind you of the person that’s not there. In some ways the pain and the grief brings you closer to them."
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Gary and wife Dawn
Gary wrote about Poppy in his recent autobiography A Better Me, and he explained to Lauren why he felt the need to do so, telling her: "It felt important to me as a 47-year-old man to talk about something bad that’s happened and how it made me feel. You can pick up several magazines and know how women deal with things and learn how other people have experienced them and for some reason men don’t talk about those things."
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Gary and his son Daniel
When Poppy died six years ago, the doting father released a statement, telling fans that he and Dawn had lost their baby. It read: "Our focus now is giving [Poppy] a beautiful funeral and loving our three children with all our hearts. We'd ask at this painful time that our privacy be respected." A few days later, Gary performed at the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony, drawing praise for his strength and braveness.
The former X Factor judge and his wife Dawn are parents to Daniel, 18, Emily, 16, and Daisy, nine. Gary and Dawn met when she was a dancer on his band's tour and they later married in 2000.
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