Eamonn Holmes has shared the 'terrible low' that came with the death of his mother. The GB News presenter heartbreakingly announced that his beloved mum, Josie, had died in November. He confirmed the sad news on Instagram alongside a photo of his mum before her death waving to him from her front door.
He then shared a moving message, sharing the 'only consolation' he and his four brothers can find in their loss. "My 4 amazing brothers and I said Goodbye for the last time to our beautiful Mum Josie this afternoon," Eamonn typed alongside the image, posted to his thousands of followers.
"She's at last reunited with Daddy now. That is our only consolation. We loved and will miss her so much. Every time I visited her she came to the door to bless me with Holy Water and Wave goodbye."
However, Eamonn was hit by further heartbreak when he was unable to attend her funeral. His mother's death came after he suffered a horror fall during recovery for a back operation. The former This Morning star underwent surgery after years of battling chronic pain as a result of slipped discs.
But shortly after the operation, Eamonn suffered a fall and the accident left him with a fractured shoulder and out of work for fourth months. Speaking about his mum's death for the first time, Eamonn said that Josie, who was two weeks away from her 92nd birthday, and the rest of the family knew she had little time left and that he told her that his mobility issues meant he would be unable to attend the funeral.
"She told me she didn't want me there anyway, and said, 'If you're there, everybody will be talking about you and wanting to shake your hand and it's my day, it's not your day,'" Eamonn recalled of one of their last conversations to the Daily Mail. "That was typical of her. But it's something I never thought I would have to face in life — not being at my mother's funeral."
The 64-year-old added: "That was a terrible low. It was just inconceivable being Irish Catholic that you wouldn't be carrying your mother's coffin." That job fell to his siblings, with whom he remains close. 'We're not the Waltons, but we're tight."
Eamonn also recalled the moment Ruth found him after his fall with blood pouring out his mouth due to him slashing his lip on his way down several stairs. "Blood was pouring out my mouth, and a bone was sticking out my shoulder," he told the publication. "Ruth came rushing down the stairs. She kept saying, 'You're fine, everything's okay, you're fine.' I said, 'Ruthie, there is a bone sticking out of my shoulder - I'm not fine.'"
But after calling an ambulance, Loose Women star Ruth was told it would be an agonsing four-hour wait. "What can you do?" Eamonn said before sharing what his wife did next. "Ruthie put a pillow under my head and sat with me in the hall and we tried to sleep."
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