Tom Parker’s widow Kelsey has announced a tribute football match in his memory as she and her children prepare to mark two years since his death.
The Wanted singer died aged 33 in March 2022 after an 18-month battle with stage four glioblastoma brain cancer.
Kelsey, 33, who has Aurelia, four, and three-year-old Bodhi with the late star, has announced she will host the Tom Parker Charity Football Match at Bromley Football Club for the second year running in a bid to cope. the lack of funding given to research into the killer disease.
She hopes the event will help her two young children to ‘remember and celebrate’ their father as she doesn’t want them to ‘feel sadness’.
Speaking ahead of the two-year anniversary of his death, Kelsey told MailOnline: ‘March is such a difficult month for us as a family. I actually can’t believe that in just a few weeks it will be two years since we lost Tom.
Tom Parker’s widow Kelsey has announced a tribute football match in his memory as she and her children prepare to mark two years since his death
Kelsey, 33, has announced she will be hosting the Tom Parker Charity Football Match at Bromley Football Club for the second year running in a bid to tackle the lack of funding for research into the killer disease.
Kelsey, 33, who has Aurelia, four, and three-year-old Bodhi with the late star, hopes the event will help her two young children to “remember and celebrate” their dad as she doesn’t want them to “feel sadness “‘
‘It’s so strange as some days I feel like it only happened yesterday and others I feel like it’s been so long since we last saw him and it breaks my heart. I think about him every single day and that will never change.’
Last year Kelsey launched a charity football match in Tom’s honor which took place on Father’s Day and she was delighted to announce that another will take place on this year’s Father’s Day – June 16th.
She said: ‘One thing I promised myself and Tom was to carry on his legacy. Brain tumors kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer.
“It’s more than leukaemia, prostate and breast cancer, but the government only gives brain tumor research 1 per cent of its funding.
“More needs to be done and I feel that when Tom passed he passed the baton to me to continue to raise awareness and funding. We cannot continue to lose our children, husbands, wives, parents, brothers and sisters to this cancer.
‘So as part of Tom’s legacy, we will be holding another charity football match in his honor this Father’s Day. It’s a great way for Rae and Bo to remember and celebrate their dad, I don’t want them to feel sad.
‘The money raised will go back to research and to help families like mine who have lost a loved one.
‘We’ve already had so much celebrity support and interest and I can’t wait to start revealing who will be joining this year’s line-up.’
The Wanted singer died aged 33 in March 2022 after an 18-month battle with stage four glioblastoma brain cancer
Last year Kelsey launched a charity football match in Tom’s honor which took place on Father’s Day and she was delighted to announce that another will take place on this year’s Father’s Day – June 16
Brothers Ryan and Scott Thomas, X Factor’s Jake Quickenden and Love Island’s Nathan Massey were among the stars who supported Kelsey last year
Brothers Ryan and Scott Thomas, X Factor’s Jake Quickenden and Love Island’s Nathan Massey were among the stars who supported Kelsey last year.
100% of the proceeds from the game will be donated to the brain tumor charity Ahead of The Game – helping to fund life-saving treatment and support affected families.
The charity invests in cancer patients and their families, providing rehabilitation, mental and emotional support and financial assistance.
It comes after Kelsey revealed she had come to the ‘painful’ decision to take off her wedding rings after months of ‘self-torture’.
After Tom’s death, Kelsey found happiness with ex-convict Sean Boggans, who was jailed in 2013 for four years after he killed a man with a punch, but they later split up.
Last month she said she wanted to do something special with her engagement and wedding rings to ‘honor my marriage to Tom, without living in the past’.
Alongside a photo montage of their 13-year relationship, Kelsey wrote: ‘Hi everyone, hope you had a lovely Sunday.
‘I wanted to share something with you this whole evening. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now, and as we close out the first week of a new year, I’ve decided to take my rings off.
Speaking ahead of the two-year anniversary of his death, Kelsey told MailOnline: ‘March is such a difficult month for us as a family. I actually can’t believe that in just a few weeks it will be two years since we lost Tom.’
‘It felt really painful every time I looked at them and I’ve been torturing myself about when it’s the right time. I know now that there will never be a right or wrong time, but there has to come a time in my life when I remove them.
“Of course I’ll always be Tom’s, he’ll always be in my heart and I know I’ll forever be in his, but right now, in this world, I’m not married anymore, as much as it breaks my heart to admit .’
Kelsey asked fans for their creative ideas on how she could do something ‘special’ with the rings until she presents them to their children Aurelia, four, and son Bodhi, three.
She continued: ‘Sometimes I wonder if I’ve left them on too long and other times I think I just expected to wear them forever.
‘How do I protect and honor my marriage to Tom while not living in the past?!
‘Anyways I’ll continue here but this is something I wanted to share with you all as you give me so much love and support. Please send me any ideas you have for what I can do with my rings and no hate please! I want 2024 to be a positive year and I have no room for negative energy or comments. Love and light xxx’.