Jane McDonald: 'I hear Ed on a voicemail and wear his sweater to feel a bit close to him'
Jane McDonald lost her longtime partner Eddie Rothe to lung cancer in March 2021.
Jane McDonald listens to voicemails from her late longtime partner and wears his jumper to feel closer to him.
The 62-year-old star has recorded her 11th studio album, Living the Dream, and it is the first time musically that she has shared the grief she has carried since her fiance, musician Eddie Rothe, died of lung cancer aged 67 in March 2021.
Discussing how the loss of Eddie inspired some of the songs on the record, Jane explained in the new issue of Woman magazine: "It's the first time I've written about Ed.
"How can I move on? is all about hearing his voice on a voicemail and wearing his sweater, just to feel a bit closer to him, then asking, 'How can I move on?'
"Another song, Beautiful Soul - God knows how I'm going to sing that! I'm going to have to think, 'I'm the channel for other people,' and this is for them, to remember their loved ones.
"My shows are very emotional, but they're full of laughter and disco as well. You get a bit of everything. It's like therapy - and that's just for me!"
Continuing to work has helped Jane navigate the grief of Eddie, who died three years after her mum, Jean, passed away.
The former Loose Women panellist - who was engaged 12 years before his death - explained: "People my age have all joined the club where we've lost loved ones. Grief is always going to be there, right at your side, and it doesn't get any better or easier.
"What you have to do is fill your life with a load of joy, to sit alongside it. I feel like my mum and Ed are still with me because I talk about them all the time.
"I'm still full of love from them, and that's a lovely place to be."
This year has already proven to be another busy one for Jane - who briefly dated Eddie in the 1980s when she was aged 17 before they lost contact and reconciled in 2008 on ITV's Loose Women.
She has fronted her six-part Channel 5 travelogue series, From Pole to Pole, and is now making a two-part documentary about heading to Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, to record Living the Dream.
However, Jane still thinks she should slow down.
The star explained: "I take on far too much, and I think I'm a superwoman, and I'm really shocked when I'm not.
"I've been saying for the last 10 years, I must slow it down a bit, but the more I try and slow it down, the quicker it gets."
