Jonnie Irwin has revealed that he made a huge 'mistake' amid his terminal cancer diagnosis which he 'wants people to learn' from.
The former A Place in the Sun host was given just six months to live back in August 2020, after being prompted to receive medical advice when his vision became blurred at the wheel.
He was told that he had developed lung cancer which had sadly spread to his brain, in a life-changing diagnosis kept secret from the public until November last year. Now, the Channel 4 favourite is trying to educate others on the condition, and the importance of taking out critical illness insurance when he didn't.
He admitted that he was forced to 'keep working' because of the 'mistake', telling AIG's OneChat podcast: "I didn’t take critical illness insurance out and therefore I had to keep working."
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The Mirror reports that he added: "Without work, I’ve got no means of paying the bills. And if I had taken the critical illness insurance out, that could’ve covered my outgoings and I probably could’ve told the world [about his condition] a lot sooner."
Jonnie also detailed on the podcast that he feels 'ridiculous' for not considering the level of insurance after his devastating diagnosis. He added: "I could’ve had two years of living a more open lifestyle. And I want people to learn from that mistake.
"I think at the time I just thought I can better spend that money elsewhere. Where I don’t know. I’ve not frittered it away. Maybe because I know what benefits it would have had, it just seems ridiculous that I didn’t.
"I thought I was doing well just taking out life insurance. It’s one positive thing and helped me a great deal in getting a financial position in life to know my wife and my boys are more secure. But how I wish I’d taken out that extra cover."
Jonnie also revealed that the 'hardest thing' he ever had to do was to tell his wife of the diagnosis, just two months after she gave birth to twins, Rafa and Cormac - now two. He added: "I can remember it like it was yesterday. And I’ve got no memory since my whole brain therapy.
"But that bloody memory stays in my head. And it is brutal. All I can remember is hugging her and just saying, 'Sorry'."
