Kelsey Parker: I Was Never Part of Tom’s Plan! His Cancer Diagnosis Changed Everything.

We Need To Talk with Paul C. Brunson

FlightStory

Leisure, Relationships, Society & Culture

4.8 • 652 Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2025

⏱️ 129 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of We Need To Talk, Kelsey Parker opens up about navigating life after the heartbreaking loss of Tom Parker, her husband and a member of the boyband The Wanted. Kelsey shares how she faced grief, public scrutiny, and the challenge of raising their children while keeping Tom’s memory alive. Kelsey also speaks candidly about love after loss, the reality of widowhood, and how she’s embracing a new chapter in her life. Follow me here: https://www.instagram.com/needtotalk https://www.tiktok.com/@weneedtotalkpod Follow Kelsey here: https://g2ul0.app.link/pmpCxFKuSQb (00:00) Intro (01:20) Shopify Ad (02:59) Where Is Kelsey From? (04:33) Kelsey's Absent Father (05:47) Kelsey's Relationship With Her Stepfather (07:04) Stigma of Blended Families (09:40) Meeting Tom (From The Wanted) (14:00) First Date With Tom (16:47) The Industry Made Us Not Label Our Relationship (22:16) Starting a Relationship With Tom (23:38) Getting Engaged to Tom (24:53) First Few Years of Being With Tom (26:09) Did Fame Change Tom? (26:41) How Did Tom Know He Wanted to Get Married? (28:39) Marrying Tom (30:15) The Honeymoon With Tom (31:05) Tom's Protectiveness vs. Kelsey's Dad (33:59) Running Businesses Together (35:40) Conversation About Having Children (37:37) First Symptoms of Tom's Illness (42:56) Tom's Brain Tumor Diagnosis (48:05) Managing Life With a Diagnosis (54:04) Tom's Mindset Through Treatment (56:37) Going Public With the Diagnosis (58:46) Tom's Chemotherapy (01:01:00) Adobe Express Ad (01:01:57) Tinder Ad (01:02:51) Keeping a Sense of Hope (01:08:36) Facing Reality and Getting Tom Into a Hospice (01:14:38) The Last Conversation With Tom (01:18:40) Focusing on the Children (01:21:46) Life After Tom (01:22:37) Feeling Lonely After Tom's Death (01:24:00) Perception of Widows Who Try to Move On (01:26:30) How Do Single Men React to a Widow? (01:29:24) Vulnerability After Loss (01:30:40) Criticism on Social Media (01:37:11) Meeting New Partner Will (01:39:40) Falling Pregnant With Will (01:41:38) Going Public With Pregnancy (01:45:24) Reaction of Tom's Family to the Pregnancy Announcement (01:46:24) Experience as a Blended Family (01:48:13) Kelsey's Spirituality (01:54:47) Keeping Tom's Memory Alive (01:58:22) Celebrating Tom's Life With the Children (02:00:49) What Is Next for Kelsey? (02:02:36) Will's Reaction to the Pregnancy (02:04:08) What Kelsey Wants Everyone to Take Away From Her Experience (02:04:42) Kelsey's Most Memorable Conversation (02:08:18) Keep Love Ad Sponsored by: Shopify: www.shopify.co.uk/needtotalk Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/uk/express/ Tinder: https://tinder.com/en-GB Get your copy of Keep Love now: https://lnk.to/keeplovebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	When I met Tom, it was love at first sight.
0:02.3	And how long did it take you to know I am going to marry this man?
0:05.5	He actually quoted these words.
0:07.5	I was like, oh.
0:09.5	Kelsey Parker is an actress, content creator, and mother.
0:14.7	She bravely and publicly has shared her journey with grief
0:18.1	following the loss of her late husband, Tom Parker,
0:20.7	a member of
0:21.4	the boy band The Wanted. He was complaining. I don't feel well. I'm going to take myself to
0:26.0	the hospital. The doctors have gone in and said to him, you've got a brain tumor. He said,
0:29.6	I could not tell you how long he's got. Just go home and spend the time of your family now. Oh, God.
0:35.2	It's just so sad. We had a mission and the mission was Tom was going to
0:40.3	survive this. There must be moments where you think, why Tom? I knew I was losing control. He said,
0:46.5	can I go to the hospice? I said, absolutely. Did you believe he was coming back? I knew that he
0:51.4	wasn't coming back. It was a dream life. It's like the dream is shattered.
0:55.7	The public is still on your side. You were lonely. I just wanted someone. The moment you were now going
1:01.9	to entertain anyone else, there is a change. For women, you've got to be on your own. She's one of those
1:08.7	people who just can't be by themselves.
1:11.6	But is that not allowed?
1:12.9	What is next for you?
1:14.8	Do you believe that you will marry?
1:20.4	If you're a business owner, I've got a gut feeling you'll want to hear this next offer from today's sponsor, Shopify.
	...

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