The grieving husband of late Gogglebox favorite Di Kershaw has revealed how his wife chose to end her life “sooner rather than later”, partly because she didn’t want her family to see her treatment.
The 77-year-old, one half of couple Mick and Di, who have been on the show since the first season, died at the weekend after a short battle with throat cancer.
Mick, who will not be returning to the show when it starts filming next month, revealed his wife kept his diagnosis mostly private, after being treated for nine weeks at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst before being transferred to the nearby Sacred Heart Hospice, where she died two weeks later.
The 80-year-old said Daily Mail Australia that Di was fed intravenously in her final days, which she spent surrounded by her loved ones.
“The cancer had spread and was inoperable. The only alternative to that was chemotherapy or radiation, but I was too weak to go through with it,” he said.
“She would have hated to sit here for six months being incapacitated. So she made the decision to end it sooner rather than later.
“Part of that decision was thinking about us. A big part of that decision was not wanting to put us through that.”
He revealed the pair were “having a normal conversation” when a scout from EndemolShine, the makers of Gogglebox, approached them at the opening of an art exhibition in Paddington.
“We jumped at the chance – it was great fun. What else were we going to do?” he said
Di and Mick had been married for over 50 years and were Indigenous art dealers.
A lover of white wine and never afraid to speak her mind, Di was undoubtedly one of the most beloved personalities on the show.
His sharp tongue even extended to his former Gogglebox castmate Angie Kent, who he saw appear on several other reality shows after leaving the show.
A joint statement from FOXTEL, Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia confirmed the news on Monday.
The couple’s Gogglebox bio gave fans a little more insight into their history together.
“Di, a former model, convinced Mick to give up his high-flying career as an advertising executive to follow his passion for art. They opened their own art gallery and dealership and, 30 years later, business is still going strong,” it read.