Yahoo News Gemma Atkinson shares poignant tribute as daughter says 'hope you have a good time in heaven'
Gemma Atkinson has shared how she's keeping her beloved pet dog close following his sad death last month. The Hits Radio host has created her own tribute to beloved pooch Norman by having some of his ashes in a ring.
Gemma, 39, said her "heart was broken" as she shared that Norman had passed away at the end of June. She confirmed the upsetting news by posting a moving video featuring pictures and clips of him from over the years with her and fellow dog Ollie, as well as her fiancé Gorka Marquez and their two children.
The emotional Bury-born star has now taken to Instagram on Thursday (July 11) to show the poignant creation as she told her fans and followers: "I picked up my ring today with Norm's ashes in it. How nice is that?"
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As she showed the beautiful ring, Gemma explained: "I picked the gemstone colours myself. I went for the blue gemstone just because blue is very calming and is supposed to help with healing emotionally and the white gemstone because it signifies new beginnings, fresh starts. So the blue's going to help me and the white is Norm and his fresh start elsewhere."
It came after the mum-of-two shared an emotional video in which she filmed her daughter sweetly recording a message for Norman. Gemma explained: "Every morning she tells Norman her news." She also clarified: "Ollie isn't poorly! He's just slowing down with his age!"
It came as Mia, five, said in the video as she held onto a picture of Norman: "Hi Norman, I hope you're having a good time [in] heaven. I'm having a good time in school. We saw you in a video and we've got pictures up... Ollie's starting to get a bit poorly so hopefully you'll see him in heaven soon." She ended the video: "Bye Norman," as Gemma gave an emotional laugh.
It comes after Gemma was seen trying to channel her grief as she shared a look at her latest workout in the gym of her Greater Manchester home. Sharing a video of herself working up a sweat on Instagram on Friday (July 5), the former Hollyoaks and Emmerdale star said: "Grief is a funny old thing isn’t it?" as she spoke about the weird few days she had between losing Norman and celebrating Mia's birthday.
But Gemma has since been asked a number of questions, including how Ollie is getting on following the loss of Norman. While she said he is 'ok', she added: "He's up and down. He wouldn't eat his food the other day, I had to hand-feed him. But then he caned, he ate all so he's getting there. Thank you very much for asking."
In a follow-up post, Gemma was heard responding to a question she ahs been 'asked a lot', with her screenshotting one of her direst messages which read: "Do you think you will get another dog to keep Ollie company?" The former Strictly star replied: !I know for some people it works bringing another dog in, I couldn't.
"I don't know, I wouldn't want Norm to think he's being replaced and I know that's not the case. I could never, ever have the same breed again. I wouldn't want any other dog to come in and take the attention from Ollie. I want all the attention on Ollie and I know ultimately, what we've just gone through with Norm, we'll have to go through it with Ollie at some point."
