Jane McDonald has returned to Loose Women for the first time in two years after losing her fiancé Eddie Rothe to lung cancer.
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The singer, who first appeared on the lunchtime chat show in 2004, got teary-eyed when talking about her beloved fiancé.
WATCH: Jane opened up about losing her fiancé Eddie Rothe on Loose Women
She said: "I don’t want to feel sad for the rest of my life because that wasn’t Ed, Ed was golden, he was smiley, he was beautiful and I’ve got to do the first interview and I couldn’t be with better people here."
The singer also spoke of her heartbreak following Eddie’s tragic death in March and explained how treasuring fond memories of their 13 years together is helping her to cope. "13 years of absolute bliss, and that’s how I’m getting through it. I’m not thinking of the last six months because it was horrendous, I’m thinking how grateful I’ve been for such a wonderful," she said before getting tearful.
Jane continued: "I’m not good at being sad, I’m not good at crying. So every day when I wake up and I get that thud like someone’s just hit me, I think, 'Are you going to go down the dark path where you’ve been for the last year? Or are you going to be grateful for everything that you’ve got in your life, and grateful for the time that you had with him and remember him how I want to remember him?'"
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The Loose Women presenter also opened up about caring for Eddie during the pandemic, revealing that she had to nurse him on her own. She said: "That’s one thing I’m grateful for as well because it was in lockdown, nobody was able to take care of him, so I had a crash course in nursing."
Jane lost Eddie in March of this year
"Because it was lung cancer and they were so afraid of him getting Covid, I took over everything and that was a privilege. At first I thought, 'How on Earth am I going to do that? I don’t know how to do this,’ but then you get a strength when you’re nursing your loved one and it really is a privilege. I learnt how to do it and I changed all the dressings and I cared for him and I nursed him and I’m glad I did."
Jane first met Eddie in her late teens before rekindling their romance 27 years later after meeting at the This Morning studios. Speaking about her first relationship with Eddie, who was a drummer in the rock band The Searchers, Jane explained how she ended the romance to let him explore his career. She said: "I knew that he had to go off and do his rock and roll and it was just great. He was just a beautiful, beautiful man and part of me thought, 'I’m never going to keep him,' I was a barmaid and he was this big star, so I just thought one day, 'I’ll go and let him be a superstar,' and I did.
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Jane's new programme Jane McDonald's Yorkshire will arrive on Channel 5 next year
The singer and presenter then went on to tell the story of how the pair reunited after a long period apart. She said: "I was having dinner with Linda Bellingham in The Ivy and Frank Allen who was the guitarist in The Searchers came over and said: 'You used to go out with our drummer,' and he said, 'His name’s Ed."
She continued: "Within a week of that, they were in This Morning… I walked in and he picked me up and swung me around."
While on the show, Jane also spoke about her upcoming projects, including Channel 5 show Jane McDonald’s Caribbean which will see the presenter continue her travels in the West Indies and will be filmed next year. Also coming to Channel 5 in 2022 is Jane McDonald's Yorkshire, where Jane will revisit the places she grew up in. Both series will be released on Channel 5 next year.
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