Gary Barlow has admitted he is still ‘angry’ about the tragic passing of his daughter Poppy and has feared her death would be the end of his marriage to wife Dawn.
Poppy was tragically delivered stillborn at full term on August 4 in 2012 just days before the Take That singer, 53, had to perform at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics.
And the musician has now admitted he has never been able to process the loss of his fourth child as he confessed: ‘I haven’t really found peace with it yet.’
Speaking on The Imperfects podcast, Gary spoke candidly about his family tragedy as he explained: ‘I don’t talk about this in great detail and I literally don’t because I’m still kind of figuring it out a little bit.
‘My wife’s emotions were completely different to mine. I’ve been angry for a long time about that, I haven’t really found peace with it yet.’
Gary Barlow has admitted he is still ‘angry’ about the tragic death of his daughter Poppy after she was delivered stillborn at full term on August 4 in 2012
Speaking on the Imperfect Podcast, the musician said he has never been able to process the loss of his fourth child and feared her death would be the end of his marriage to wife Dawn (pictured in 2012)
Gary also revealed that he feared Poppy’s death would lead to him and Dawn, 54, splitting up due to the difficult loss, but instead he added that the pair grew closer as a couple.
He continued: ‘We had a worrying statistic when it happened to us, something like 95 percent of couples split up when something like that happens to them.
‘I think it comes down to men deal with it differently than the women do. My wife does far better than I do, she’s a much stronger person than I am. She’s really been amazing throughout it.’
The couple are also parents to Daniel, 22, Emily, 19, and Daisy, 13, as he also spoke about how it affects them.
‘We’re one of the lucky couples because for us it’s brought us ever closer together and we do have three other children as well and that’s helped us.
‘The youngest one wasn’t affected at all by it, but the older two still talk about it a lot. It’s a highly complex thing that none of us should ever have to go through.
‘I guess it’s made me stronger, I think so. I think things like that have to, don’t they? There was definitely a point where I wondered if we’d ever be back to where we were before but I think we have got there.’
After Poppy’s death, Gary wrote the song Let Me Go in tribute to his daughter as he admitted he has used his music to find some solace in his grief.
He explained: ‘ We had a worrying statistic when it happened to us, something like 95 percent of couples split up when something like that happens to them….We’re one of the lucky couples because for us it’s brought us ever closer together and we do have three other children as well and that’s helped us’
After Poppy’s death, Gary wrote the song Let Me Go in tribute to his daughter as he admitted he has used his music to find some solace in his grief
‘For me, usually my way around most things in life is not talking about them, I write music. I’ve got lots of music that keeps her alive for me on a nightly basis.
‘When I see audiences singing along, that’s the life for me, that’s what she brought and it’s here in front of me and it happens a few times a week on stage and that’s the way I keep her close to me. My wife has another set of techniques she uses.’
Gushing over Dawn’s strength, Gary added: ‘She’s really special, really special. She’s a no nonsense mum. She brought our kids up, I don’t. I do this job which is bloody all encompassing, I travel all round the world, she gave up her job to bring our kids up.
‘Let her dreams to one side and I got to do mine still. She’s done a brilliant job, everyone who meets our kids always says how great they are. She’s a wonderful woman, she’s pretty tough on me, I’ve got to be honest.’
Gary previously recounted the moment they found out of Poppy’s passing back in 2022 as he said: ‘It’s August 2012, Dawn has gone for a last minute check-up. Only four days to go, we’re all so excited. Name is on the nursery, Moses basket, cot, clothes all over the floor waiting for the main player to arrive.
‘Dawn calls and something’s wrong. Now this is one of those phone calls where you live a lifetime in a second.
‘We all have coping mechanisms, back there was the bulimia and the hallelujahs in the toilet. I’m not saying just having a run is going to cure it, but those were my coping mechanisms. I dealt with this by turning into bloody Inspector Gadget.’
He detailed the realisation that he was going to have to watch stillborn Poppy be born after Dawn was induced – but added that despite dreading it that he found the moment magical.
He added that the days and weeks after Poppy was born, he saw a strength in his wife that he found inspiring.
If you’ve been affected by this article, you can call stillbirth and neonatal charity, SANDs, on 0808 164 3332 or visit www.sands.org.uk.
