A Place in the Sun presenter Craig Rowe has announced the death of one of his closest friends, prompting a flood of support from followers and fellow celebrities.
The 54-year-old told his social media followers he had been quiet recently because Jules, a friend of more than 30 years, had passed away a few weeks ago. In an emotional Instagram post, Rowe described Jules as "the most unique, funny, caring, fun-loving, compassionate & sincere" person he had ever met, adding it was a "privilege" to have had him as a best friend for more than three decades.
Emotional tribute at thanksgiving of life
Rowe said he was "honoured" to read out a tribute he had written alongside his and Jules' other best friend, Lanze, at Jules' thanksgiving of life. He described it as a "magical" day, celebrated by hundreds of people.
Opening up further, Rowe explained this is the first time he has lost someone so close to him, admitting he has been "crying with tears of love" every day. He shared a selection of images of him, Lanze and Jules from over the years, branding them "quite the trio". The pictures showed the three men enjoying holidays together, grinning as they embraced and posed for photos.
Heartfelt message to followers
In the caption, Rowe wrote: "I've been quiet on social media. I lost one of the best friends I ever had a few weeks ago and it has been and continues to be something very difficult to process."
He continued: "My beloved Julian (or 'Jules' as many of his friends including me called him) was the most unique, funny, caring, fun-loving, compassionate & sincere people I have ever met and I had the privilege of having him as one of my best friends for over 30 years."
He added: "I wanted to share some images here of Jules along with my other best friend Lanze. I think you can see we were quite the trio. Where some friendships drift apart as life moves in different directions ours continued to grow and blossom. Yes, Jules and I had our ups and downs but nothing ever rocked the foundation of what we had."
Rowe went on: "I have never lost someone so close to me who I have known for so long so the journey of grief at this level is new to me. I just try to remember a big part of grief is love and we always told each other how much we loved each other. I never stop thinking of him and I am crying with tears of love every day. In one way it feels so strange that life goes on as normal but at the same time I know that is exactly what he would have wanted."
He recalled Jules' words: "Sweet'art, don't be sitting round getting maudlin, you get out and conquer life every day and if you have a glass of champagne as you do it, even better!"
Rowe concluded: "So, I'm back here on social media now as it is part of my life and Jules more than anyone knew life was to be lived, experienced and never taken for granted." He added that the music accompanying the post was one of their favourite songs to which they had a dance routine and would perform for anybody who would watch.
Outpouring of support
Friends and followers rushed to the comments with messages of support. Amanda Holden wrote: "Darling. Sending you the biggest cuddle." Another commented: "Sending you lots of love Craig. You are in my thoughts and prayers," while a third added: "Sending love and hugs to you Craig at this difficult time." A fourth wrote: "I'm so sorry Craig. It looks like you guys had a blast, hold on to that."
