Sir Tom Jones: Therapist Helped Me Carry On After Wife's Death

Sir Tom Jones: Therapist Helped Me Carry On After Wife's Death

Sir Tom Jones has revealed therapy and his family helped him cope with the loss of his wife of 59 years.

The Welsh singer, 76, was urged to visit a therapist by his son Mark after struggling to get out of bed following the death of childhood sweetheart Linda.

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, he said: "Mark helped tremendously. He said, 'There is this lady you should see'. She counselled a lot of things.

"She said to me, 'You have got to carry on. If you don't, you will die'. I thought of my family, my son, my daughter and my grandchildren – all of that."

He added: "When my wife passed away, God bless her, I didn't know whether I would make it. There were days when I felt I couldn't get up. You don't want to get out of bed to start with."

Linda - full name Lady Melinda Rose Woodward - died of cancer in April last year.

Sir Tom, who is appearing in The Voice UK as a coach of Welsh duo Into The Ark, said the programme had helped his recovery.

He told the newspaper: "Time off would be death for me. The only time I'll take off is when I die. I don't take long periods of time off. I'm happier when I'm singing than not."

He said he was hopeful he would return for another series, adding: "We are talking about it now so it looks pretty positive. I'd hate to count my chickens before they've hatched but I'd like to do it. I like it and they know I do."

He was controversially replaced as a coach in 2015 when the show was on the BBC, but was recalled by bosses after its move to ITV.

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