Millionaire mortgage broker James Symond has shared a heartfelt tribute to his late wife and mother of his young daughter after she died just two days before Christmas.
The former chief executive of Aussie Home Loans told friends he was overcome with grief in an emotional post titled ‘Amelia Beau Finlay Symond, Rest in Paradise December 23, 2024’ on a social media page for former staff of the company.
Symond, nephew of the company’s founder, Australian John Symond, confessed that he felt “terrified and devastated” after losing his Amelia, but was determined to stay strong for the sake of his five-year-old daughter, Stella Rose.
“I searched my entire life for my dear wife,” the retired runner wrote in the emotional tribute.
‘The adoring mother of our five-year-old daughter, Stella Rose, and the absolute love of my life.
‘Little Stella and I are devastated to lose you to heaven today.
‘Only God knows how I can get through this, but I must get through this for the sake of our beautiful daughter.
‘Honey, I am what I am today because of you, my golden ray of sunshine. God bless you and until we meet again, my beautiful girl.
James Symond shared this beautiful photo of his late wife Amelia Beau Symond with their baby daughter Stella Rose online on Monday as he announced his partner’s death.
The couple, who married in 2019, have spent the last few years locked in devastating battles with cancer.
Symond did not provide details about his late wife’s cause of death, but previously revealed that the former actor had been battling stage four breast cancer.
His condition was identified by doctors less than two years after Symond received his own fatal cancer diagnosis and was given just weeks to live.
In his candid post, the 52-year-old said his current health battle was so serious that his family had always hoped he would be “the first” to leave.
“Thank you God for lending us all your angel and then giving me another one called Stella Rose,” Mr Symond said.
‘Too early to leave us since I was going to be the first.
‘I’m terrified and broke and I just won’t break down.
‘You are simply everything to us and we miss you more than words can express.
‘We can’t stop crying. My heart is in pieces.’
Mrs Symond had been battling stage four breast cancer before she died this week.
Symond, whose father Michael loaned his brother John $10,000 to start Aussie Home Loans in February 1992, ran family mortgage brokerage firm as CEO for six years before retiring at the end of 2021.
His shocking resignation stunned the industry after having been groomed for decades to replace his uncle, who had just retired from the company as president after nearly 30 years at the helm.
However, it soon became clear that Symond had bigger concerns to deal with and he has since spoken candidly about his and his wife’s battle with cancer.
Appearing on his high-profile colleague Mark Bouris’ podcast just four months ago, Symond spoke about his devastating conditions and the difficulties they have faced together over the past seven years.
He said he had just had a pre-Christmas business meeting in December 2017 when he suddenly felt weak and He needed to sit on the footpath outside Ivy on George St in Sydney to recover.
Feeling that something was wrong, he went to the doctor the next day where he diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer.
“I said, ‘What? What are you talking about? What do you mean?” he told Bouris during the podcast.
“They said, ‘We think we caught it early, but you have bone marrow cancer,’ and within 24 hours, I sat down with the oncologist and the kidney specialist.
“They’re telling me and my fiancee that I might have six to 10 weeks to live, and that’s it, and that I need to get my affairs in order.”
Symond says his “heart is in pieces” after the loss of his wife Amelia Beau
After spending a sleepless night together fearing the worst, their doctor told them that all was not lost.
“The doctor said, ‘Look, good news. We think we have a plan. And we think these six to 10 weeks, you know, could be six to 10 years,” he said.
‘So this was six years ago. It’s been six and a half years… so I’ve been on a journey for six and a half years. Total remission of multiple myeloma is never achieved. I’ve been through hell and back.’
He said he has since undergone a bone marrow transfusion and a stem cell transplant, and now requires daily dialysis for kidney disease and regular chemotherapy.
“I had a bone marrow transfer, which is extraordinary,” he said.
‘They take the bone marrow out of the body, spin it up, clean it and put it back. But you spend two and a half weeks in St Vincent’s Hospital, in a sealed room, on a sealed floor where no one can visit you because you will die.
‘I don’t know how long I’ll be here… five years? Twenty-five years? Certainly not at 50, unless there is a cure for multiple myeloma, so I’m adapting as much as I can.’
Symond has described his late wife as the love of his life.
Mrs Symond is survived by her husband, James, and five-year-old daughter, Stella Rose.
Just when he hoped he was overcoming his cancer diagnosis, came the devastating news that his wife was also fighting her own battle with cancer.
“The next thing I knew, my wife was also very sick, so she had breast cancer, stage four breast cancer,” he told Bouris.
‘So you can imagine the hell we’re going through with that, and she’s had that for the last few years.
‘And once again, we’re putting everything into it. We’re trying to reinvent the rule book, but it’s been extraordinarily difficult.
‘You know, the guy upstairs gives you a lot of gifts and a lot of good things, you know, a lot of rainbows, and he also gives you a lot of bloody challenges.
‘And so I’ve had my fair share of victories and my fair share of absolute challenges with myself and now with my wife.
‘So thank God I have a beautiful four-and-a-half-year-old daughter who keeps you absolutely focused, but it is very difficult. It’s very hard, you know?
In a tragic update on his wife’s worsening condition, Symond last Saturday hinted that his wife was just days away from dying.
“Merry Christmas…this time is very difficult for my immediate family as my wife is still very, very sick…days,” he said in a post on the group’s social media page.
‘Cancer is simply terrible. Keep your loved ones close as tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Difficult times. God bless you.’