Simon Thomas reveals suicidal thoughts after wife's death

TV presenter Simon Thomas has revealed he considered suicide following the sudden death of his wife, but thinking about his son Ethan stopped him.

The former Blue Peter and Sky Sports presenter’s wife, Gemma, died aged 40 in November 2017, just days after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia – a rare, aggressive form of blood cancer.

Talking at an event held by terminal illness charity Marie Curie, the 46-year-old explained how his grief led to him considering suicide more than once. He said: “I didn’t cope very well, I’ve been to a grief counsellor since three weeks after Gemma died, it really helps me. Grief is painful whoever you’ve lost and whatever time in your life you lose them.

“I had a decision to make and there were at least two moments where I nearly did end it. My boy has been the single biggest reason I kept going.

“There is no moving on. That person going leaves a gigantic hole in your life that no-one or nothing can ever fill.

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“Once you realise that, it does change things. It’s about rebuilding life around that gap. For the sake of Ethan I had to find life again. My relationship with Ethan is so much more profound than it ever was.

“Where is Gemma now? She’s in the eyes of my boy, in how he reacts to me, how he speaks words of kindness – he’s almost become a mother figure to me. He tells me off for getting stressed at drivers on the school run, he’s becoming like her.”

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The couple married in 2005. Their son Ethan who was aged just eight when his mother died.

Simon has used social media to help him in the grieving process – sharing his feelings on Twitter with more than 200,000 followers.