Barry McGuigan breaks down in tears on live TV as he opens up about daughter's death
Former professional boxer Barry McGuigan broke down in tears on Friday's (06.12.24) 'Good Morning Britain' episode as he opened up about his daughter's death aged 33, and while the star admitted he has "never recovered from it", he knows it is "important" to talk about.
Barry McGuigan broke down in tears on live TV as he opened up about his daughter's death, admitting he has "never recovered from it".
The 63-year-old former professional boxer's daughter, actress Danika McGuigan, died from bowel cancer in 2019 aged 33, and Barry admitted his campmate Danny Jones has experienced "similar issues" in his life.
Speaking on 'Good Morning Britain' via live link from Australia's Gold Coast, a teary Barry said: "It’s the single most devastating thing that’s happened to me. Losing my daughter was dreadful. I never recovered from it.
"I'm getting better as time goes on. I used to not be able to talk about it at all but I know it's important I do talk about it. I know she's there somewhere.
"Her life was so sad, it all happened at the most important time of her life when things were looking great and she got cancer and she died.
"Me and my wife have never really recovered from it and I don't think we ever will, but just time teaches us how to deal with it and Danny has had similar issues in his life..."
Barry admitted his daughter's passing is "so hard to cope with", and he chokes up every time he speaks about her tragic passing.
He added: "I find I choke up every time I talk about it and people say, 'get over it', but when you love somebody as much as I loved her, it's almost impossible.
"I try my best and in time it will get better but her passing and how terribly sad and how terribly painful it was, it's just so hard to cope with."
Barry also told how the show was one of the "greatest experiences" of his life, and said campmate Danny could've been "one of my sons".
He said: "Looking back it was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I'd recommend it to anybody who is thinking about it.
"They are all such an amazing bunch of people, but my favourite is Danny. He could've been one of my sons.
"I love the young fella, he's a great, great man."
