Jonnie Irwin and his wife Jess share three young boys, Rex, four, and three-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac. Devastatingly, the Place In The Sun presenter has been forced to come to terms with the fact he won’t see his children grow up due to his diagnosis.
Jonnie, 49, was diagnosed in 2020 with terminal lung cancer which has spread to his brain.
In a new interview, Jonnie said “I don’t want them to struggle” when discussing the lives he hopes they will lead.
Speaking to HELLO! Jonnie also said that Jess, 40, is the softer parent so he predicts: “They’ll have a softer upbringing than if I was around…But I’m confident that they’ll have a good upbringing.”
He explained to the publication: “I keep being asked, ‘Are you going to tell them?’ but tell them what?
“It would be horrible news that they’d have to get their heads around. And it would confuse the hell out of Rex – he’s got a shocking enough day coming.
“Let’s bury our heads in the sand for as long as possible.”
Jonnie previously said that he and Jess don’t speak about his illness much either.
He said on the OneChat podcast with AIG Life: “Jess and I don’t talk about it much and we’ve been close to death’s door a few times now. Twice at least. Apart from those times, we’ve not really talked about it.
“Financially we’re slowly getting stuff in place, transferring account details and putting stuff in her name but being positive is such an important factor. I do that by not talking about it too much.”
In the same chat, he also discussed how he broke the horrible news to Jess, who was pregnant with their twins at the time of his diagnosis.
He recalled: “How do you tell a woman who’s only two months before having twins? How do you tell them that you’re not going to be there anymore?
“I can remember it like it was yesterday. I’ve got no memory since I’ve had brain therapy but that b****y memory stays in my head and it is brutal.
“All I can remember is hugging her and just saying sorry and I still feel sorry now.”
You can read Jonnie’s full interview in the latest issue of HELLO!
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