Towards the end of Tom Parker's life before he tragically died in March 2022, his relationship with wife Kelsey kept him going through even his darkest moments.
After the star was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in October 2020, Kelsey became Tom's caregiver, on top of raising their two children, Aurelia Rose and Bodhi Thomas.
And even before Tom's diagnosis, the pair have long been seen as the gold standard of celebrity romances, having met in a West London nightclub in 2009.
In his memoir, Tom detailed how the couple met - and how Kelsey became his rock.
He wrote: "I think she actually saw me first. She was with Pixie Lott, her best mate from school. Apparently, Kelsey told one of her mates, 'I’m in love with him'. It was literally love at first sight."
The pair may have been immediately drawn to each other, but it wasn't plain sailing right away - as he shot to fame with band The Wanted, Tom was eager to keep up a bad boy image.
"We had such an instant connection, I knew she was my person immediately," Tom wrote.
"I’m ashamed to say that this doesn’t mean I treated her the way I should have straight away.
"In fact, I was quite s**tty to her during our first year. I felt as though my commitment to being part of a rising boyband meant that I was unable to be in a relationship."
Tom admitted that he kept inviting Kelsey to events or concerts he was performing with his band, but that he was reluctant to make their relationship official.
His inability to commit led the pair to separate, and for six months, the once loved-up couple didn't speak.
It looked like love was off the table, but Tom wasn't willing to give up as he 'couldn’t stop thinking about her'.
In a bid to win back Kelsey, the singer invited his ex to his band's first headline show at London's famous Hammersmith Apollo, and to his surprise, she came.
"For the entire show I sang to her," he confessed, "My eyes were glued to her the whole time."
And though Kelsey would join the band backstage after the show, it wasn't the reconciliation Tom was hoping for, as she turned down an invitation to continue the night with the band and crew, leaving Tom devastated.
It wasn't until the boy band star found himself on holiday in Marbella in the pouring rain that he would finally confess to his estranged love how he really felt.
Miserable, he called Kelsey admitting: "I’m ready to be with you now."
Kelsey responded: "Okay, well, I might not be ready to be with you!", throwing the lovers' future into question.
But luckily, Kelsey decided she was ready to reunite with Tom, and they finally became a couple when he came home.
Since his death earlier this year, Kelsey has dealt with the harrowing grief of losing a spouse too soon - from telling their children about his passing to learning to live without a partner.
In her final goodbye to her husband, Kelsey shared: "You’ve shown our children how to be brave, courageous and strong.
“We will carry on your legacy forever."
