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"I've never been loved like that before." Robin Bailey on life after Sean Pickwell's death.

 

Nearly five weeks after losing her husband, Sean Pickwell, to terminal liver cancer, Robin Bailey is ready to talk about her immense loss.

Speaking to Georgie Gardner on The Today Show, the former Triple M radio presenter spoke about feeling grief, and hope, in the aftermath of Pickwell’s death.

“I’ve never been loved like that before, and neither had he, and for whatever reason, I was the person to take him on that journey. I know that,” she said.

“It’s just that, we prepared so much for his death, we just didn’t prepare for my life afterwards.”

Robin Bailey tells Mamamia, the thing she wishes everyone knew. Post continues below.

Video by MMC

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2017, Pickwell passed away on September 26, 2019. Six days prior, Bailey left her role as the radio host of The Big Breakfast in order to spend more time with her husband, who she married in November, 2018. His death came five years after her first husband, and the father of her three children, Tony Smart, died by suicide.

“We spent a fair bit of time searching for, or believing there was going to be some cures – medical or alternative – and we’re not saying that doesn’t work for some people but he has gotten to a critical point in his journey,” she told The Courier Mail at the time.

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“This last week was tough and I thought ‘nope, that was it’. I hope this is a miracle and he is here next year, but I need to spend time with my husband and not feel bad about the juggle.”

Reflecting on his disease, Bailey said supporting Pickwell through the final stages of his life gave them both a deeper appreciation for their time together.

“I will say that you get this amazing chance to value life,” she told Gardner.

“There’s nothing I would change. I mean I wish he was here, but cancer also gave us the ability to just grab life by the hands and just shake it.”

 

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Now, just over a month from her husband’s passing, Bailey said she’s looking towards the future, even if she’s unsure “of her next chapter”. Writing on her Instagram, the mum-of-three shared that she realised she “needed to think about next year and where [she] wanted [her] life to go,” and that’s when she got into contact with The Today Show.

“My first step was to call the producers of The Today Show and offer to come back to my weekly weekend spot. Then on Friday, I was asked if Georgie Gardner could come up and chat to me about Sean and our love and my life over the last five years,” she wrote.

“I’ve got to be honest, I was apprehensive as I wasn’t sure whether I was ready to put makeup and heels back on and get out there. It’s so easy in grief to just hide and cry and hide some more, but the media is my happy safe place, and it’s been my career for 30 years, so this was a lovely gentle heartfelt way to say that life moves on but love is forever.

“I hope I did my beautiful panda proud.”