Loose Women host Kaye Adams has opened her heart about losing her parents and revealed that she screams with rage to let her emotions out.
The star was plunged into grief when mum Cathie, 83, died in July 2018, just a year after dad Duncan, 85, passed away.
Kaye, 56, said: “I cry and I rage. I take myself into a quiet space, scream and have a bit of a shout at the Universe.
“Everyone needs an outlet. Some people go for a run, others use a punchbag, some people cry. I find shouting therapeutic, particularly when in the eye of the storm.
“I don’t do it as much now – and never when my children are around. I wouldn’t subject them to that.”
Kaye admitted she has only recently started to enjoy moments of joy again, saying: “I am only now giving myself permission to be happy again.”
Her dad had dementia and it was three months after his death that Cathie had the first of two strokes.
Kaye said she was “phenomenally close” to her mum and was with her when she passed away.
The Radio Scotland presenter added: “My heart was broken and it was simply a matter of putting one foot in front of the other.
(Image: Publicity Picture)
“Some days you feel bad, others you feel fine. Family and friends can be lovely and supportive, but ultimately you have to go through certain things in life alone. This is one of them.
“I’ve been down… the last few years have been really tough.
“Being depressed because your parents have been ill and you’ve lost them both in such a short space of time is entirely
normal. I’ve had to work through it.”
Kaye, mum to daughters Charley, 17, and Bonnie, 12, said her partner of over 25 years, tennis coach Ian Campbell, 57, is a huge comfort. She added: “He’s there for me and by my side. The kids have been great, too.”
Kaye’s Loose Women friends, particularly best friend Nadia Sawalha, have been a rock.
She said: “Nadia is amazing in these situations. She came up to my house (in Glasgow) and started cooking, which is lovely on a host of levels.
“The Loose Women girls were fantastic. The show has given us real friendship, which is a great gift.”
Kaye was with Nadia in June 2017 when – on the day they signed a deal for their cookbook Disaster Chef – news came that her mother had suffered the first stroke.
Kaye said: “I was at Nadia’s house, full of the joys, and she had just handed me a glass of champagne when I got the phone call from a neighbour of Mum.”
A staunch supporter of the Stroke Association, she added: “In spirit, she was still strong. Always. She was a fighter.
“It was so distressing to see her lose her powers in one fell swoop but we shared a lot of special moments after her stroke, which I cherish.
“She was determined to walk again. But then she had her second stroke last July. I was with her when she passed away three weeks later.
“Mum was fearless, strong and energetic, incredibly loving and supportive.”
(Image: PA)
Speaking about moving on with her life, Kaye added: “At first, I almost felt guilty to be happy. But to laugh with my girlfriends, to do some childish, stupid things after having the burden of responsibility for so long? It’s refreshing.
“And I’m sure Mum would have wanted that for me.”
For information, go to stroke.org.uk/lived-experience-of-stroke-report
