Pop star Gary Barlow has described how he coped with his daughter’s stillbirth – and urged men to be more open about grief.
The Take That singer told Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs programme he felt it was important to share his experience of grief.
He said he hoped it might encourage other men talk about their emotions and how they were coping after the loss of a child.
Poppy was stillborn in 2012 and Gary wrote about her death in his recent autobiography.
Speaking to radio presenter Lauren Laverne, he said: “It felt important to me as a 47-year-old man to talk about something bad that’s happened and how it made me feel. You can pick up several magazines and know how women deal with things and learn how other people have experienced them and for some reason men don’t talk about those things."
Gary Barlow. Credit: Matt Deegan
He added: “For anyone who has been through anything like this I think it’s something you accept you’re going to be dealing with the rest of your life.”
"In a strange way you don’t want it to end because it’s one of the few things you have to remind you of the person that’s not there. In some ways the pain and the grief brings you closer to them."
The singer and his wife Dawn have three other children.
In his autobiography Gary described what happened after Poppy was stillborn.
He said: “It was lovely, it was gorgeous, we both took turns cuddling her, and we took pictures.
"It was one of the best hours of my life I've ever experienced in the midst of the hardest time of my life. It was very powerful, that hour was."
If you want to seek advice or help about grief or bereavement you can find a BACP counsellor or psychotherapist via our Therapist directory.