Normally one of the best things about getting a year older is the excuse to have a fun celebration for your loved ones.
But Peter Andre hasn’t celebrated his birthday in over a decade, for a heartbreaking reason.
Just two months before the singer’s 40th birthday in 2013, his brother died from kidney cancer. Andre said that the loss plunged him into a “very, very dark place”.
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Andre’s now-wife Emily McDonagh threw him a surprise party for his 40th, in the hopes that the celebration would help take his mind off his grief for a day. But the party took a huge toll on the Mysterious Girl singer’s mental health.
He opened up this week about the tough time in an interview with The Times. “At my surprise 40th birthday two months later, I kept disappearing and breaking down the whole night because I’d lost my brother,” he said.
“I don’t think I’ve had a birthday party since.”
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The father-of-four added that he sought help from therapists to get through the pain. “When I lost my brother, I was in a very, very dark place,” he said. “[Grief] is not the same as anxiety and depression, though you might be feeling the same symptoms.'”
Earlier this year, Andre celebrated his birthday for the first time in a decade, jetting off with his wife and kids for a holiday in Dubai.
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“I was always a bit freaked out about turning 50, but it’s coincided nicely with me celebrating 30 years in the industry,” he wrote in his column for OK!.
“Focusing on the 30 and not the 50 sounds better! It sounds old but it really isn’t. I feel so young. I train, I love food, I love life.”
In December 2021, Andre shared a heartfelt tribute to his brother on Instagram, marking nine years since his death.
“108 months, 3,285 days, 78.840 hours, 4.730.400 minutes, 283,824.000 seconds, 9 years. Not a moment goes by I don’t miss you my brother,” he wrote to his story.
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Andre has spoken previously about how losing his brother led to his decision to stop making reality TV shows.
The star appeared in a number of shows with his ex-wife Katie Price, including When Jordan Met Peter, Jordan & Peter: Laid Bare, Jordan & Peter: Marriage and Mayhem and Katie & Peter: The Next Chapter.
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“Even though ITV were very kind to give me a month off filming, when I went to film again I was constantly breaking down and I realised it was time to take a long break from doing the show,” he shared in 2021.
Last September, Andre revealed he’d been trying to relocate his wife and children to Australia as his mother’s health declines but it had been a logistical nightmare.
“We want to get out there as soon as we can and stay for as long as possible, but it’s tricky with the kids’ school,” he wrote in his new! magazine column.