I held my dying husband while he listened to our kids play- it was awful, Jonnie Irwin’s widow says in agonising tribute
THE widow of Jonnie Irwin has revealed how she held her dying husband in his final moments as he listened to their kids playing.
Jonnie, who hosted Escape to the Country and A Place In The Sun, died aged 50 in February following a gruelling battle with cancer.
The dad-of-three had been diagnosed with lung cancer two years earlier, before revealing it had spread to his brain.
His wife Jess, 41, has now told of the “f****** awful process” of his final few days and how he told family members: “I’m just so sorry I’m leaving you all.”
She told MailOnline: “‘You hear people say ‘he passed away peacefully. It was lovely,’ but it wasn’t for Jonnie.
“It was a f****** awful process. I wish I hadn’t seen it but I had to be with him.”
Jess added: “I still struggle with what he went through. I can’t imagine what it is to know your time is up and you’re hearing the noise of your three sons kicking a football in the drive; you can smell food cooking downstairs.”
She described how Jonnie was “surrounded by love” at his home in Newcastle, rather than a hospice, and had around 30 visitors coming to say their goodbyes in his final days.
But Jess also told of the pain of “lying next to my dying husband”, all while trying to manage their three kids.
She said her husband “didn’t want to go” and was “fighting to the last”, but not once did he complain about his cancer battle.
Jonny fronted A Place in Sun on Channel 4 from 2004 to 2021.
He had been selected from hundreds of applicants, along with Jasmine Harman, to present the show and went on to appear in more than 200 episodes.
He married Jess in 2016 and they stayed together until his tragic death earlier this year.
The couple, met through mutual friends, found out about Jonnie’s cancer in 2020 – just two months before Jess had given birth to twins Rafa and Cormac.
Their eldest child Rex was also still just a toddler at the time.
Despite the terminal diagnosis and being given just six months to live, Jonnie went on to live for nearly three years.
But during that time he “changed his diet” and “stopped eating all the food he liked” in an effort to focus on improving his health.
Jess also spoke of the moment she told their three children of their dad’s death.
She said they had kept the children “blissfully unaware” of their dad’s battle, before telling them “angels had taken him to heaven”.
During a glittering career, Jonnie fronted BBC property shows Escape to the Country and To Buy or Not to Buy.
He also hosted Escape to the Perfect Town and Sky1 show Dream Lives for Sale in 2011, which saw him help people leave their lives in the UK behind to set up a business.
Alongside his TV appearances, Jonnie still worked as an adviser to clients on business and property and ran a consultancy agency.
He also wrote a regular column for A Place in the Sun magazine and gave presentations at the show’s live events.
The presenter previously told The Sun of his sorrow at not being able to see his children grow up.
He said in March: “I think they’re not going to remember me, they’re really not.
“They’re too young and if I die this year there’s no chance they will have memories. And someone else is going to bring them up.
“I’ve done the hard yards with them and someone else will get the easy bit.”
His wife’s tribute comes after close friend and colleague Jasmine Harmine broke down in tears as she opened up him.
Appearing on Loose Women, the presenter’s voice broke as she discussed her friend and remembered their first meeting.
