Kelsey Parker has hit back at a cruel social media troll who told her to 'move on' from her late husband, The Wanted singer Tom Parker, four years after his death.
Grief is not a straight line
In a video posted to social media, Kelsey, 36, explained that she was emotional on what would have been Tom's 37th birthday this week. She said that grief is not a 'straight line,' admitting that heartache can creep up unexpectedly when a certain song plays or a special date appears on the calendar.
Shortly after posting her video about 'healing,' a social media user messaged her, telling her to 'stop thinking' about Tom. The message, which Kelsey shared on her Instagram Stories, read: "Yes I am going to sound like a c*** but you need to stop thinking about your ex-husband who has passed away."
'Tom wasn't my ex-husband'
Kelsey furiously responded, saying: "Tom wasn't my ex-husband. He was my husband, and he died. There is a huge difference. Loving someone who has died doesn't stop because you're in a new relationship. Grief isn't something you 'move on' from or switch off. You learn to carry it alongside the life you continue to build."
She added that her partner, Will Lindsay, understands her grief, just as he still loves and remembers his own dad, who died when he was 21. "I would never expect him to stop talking about his dad, and he would never expect me to stop talking about Tom. My past, my present and my future can all exist together. They're not mutually exclusive."
A new chapter
Kelsey and Tom had been married for four years after meeting on a night out in London in 2009. In September 2024, she went public with her new romance and revealed that she knew Tom would, in time, 'send the right man' for her.
In May this year, Kelsey announced that she was pregnant, less than a year after she and Will faced the heartache of their son Phoenix being stillborn. She said: "A year ago next month, we lost our beautiful baby boy, Phoenix. And somehow, through all the heartbreak, it feels like Tom and Phoenix have sent us another little gift from heaven - our little rainbow baby."
