charlotte church

Charlotte Church's father passes away at the age of 56

The singer was estranged from her biological dad

Online Digital News Director
February 18, 2021

Charlotte Church's biological father has died after contracting coronavirus at the age of 56.

Stephen Reed, who was estranged from his famous daughter, was admitted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff with COVID just before Christmas, the Daily Mail reports.

MORE: Charlotte Church secret wedding to Jonathan Powell – take a look back

According to the paper, he later passed away at his home in the Vale of Glamorgan with his family by his side.

WATCH: Prince Charles speaks about coronavirus experience for the first time

Stephen was not in contact with Charlotte at the time of his death, and it's thought he had never met her two children – Ruby, 13, and 12-year-old Dexter.

MORE: Charlotte Church reveals plans to open her own school at her home in Wales

He left Charlotte and her mum Maria when the star was two to start a new life with hospital podiatrist Alison. The pair married 33 years ago and together welcomed two children, sons Luke and Alex.

Charlotte pictured with her mum, Maria

Charlotte, meanwhile, remained close to her mum and her step-father James, who adopted her when she was still a child.

In 2019, James was diagnosed with AL amyloidosis – which is similar to blood cancer. At the time, Charlotte shared her fears following the news.

MORE: Charlotte Church and Jonathan Powell make first appearance since secret wedding

"It's absolutely terrifying the idea of not having him around. I rely on him for so much, he's my buddy, my absolute best friend and has been for years," she shared.

Charlotte is very close to her step-dad, James

Discussing the heartbreaking diagnosis himself, James explained: "Time is not on my side. The disease I have is very rare, only one in eight million people have it. It's called AL amyloidosis. The worst scenario is I could only have six months, so I'm in a horrible position."

MORE: Charlotte Church makes return to stage following miscarriage

The singer married Johnny Powell in 2017

Charlotte, 34, prefers to keep her family out of the spotlight – and that includes her children. The star - who shares her eldest two with ex-partner, former rugby player Gavin Henson - married musician Johnny Powell in a secret ceremony in October 2017, and they welcomed a daughter together in August last year.

Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign up to HELLO! Daily for all the latest and best celebrity coverage

Email Address

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More Celebrity News

See more