Kelsey Parker has admitted that her new relationship with Sean Boggans ‘hasn’t been plain sailing’ after being forced to hit back at vile trolls.
The mother-of-two, 33, confirmed her new romance earlier this month, after her husband Tom tragically died of a brain tumour in March 2022.
Appearing on Loose Women on Friday, Kelsey said she ‘deserves a little bit of happiness’ after Tom’s death, adding it’s been ‘really hard’ to navigate a new romance.
She said: ‘That’s not plain sailing either because it’s really hard, we’re trying a new relationship and I am grieving someone and it’s really, really hard for both of us but do you know what, I’m really, really happy and deserve a little bit of happiness.’
She added: ‘Life’s tough and you have to be resilient, I have been resilient and I feel like I need happiness now.’
Resilient: Kelsey Parker, 33, has admitted that her new relationship with Sean Boggans ‘hasn’t been plain sailing’ after being forced to hit back at vile trolls
Moving on: The mother-of-two was forced to hit back at trolls as she went Instagram official with her boyfriend (pictured) on Sunday, saying: ‘Tom will always be the love of my life’
Kelsey hit back at trolls after going Instagram official with her boyfriend on Sunday, saying: ‘Tom will always be the love of my life.’
The mother-of-two wrote on Instagram Stories: ‘For anyone who thinks my new relationship is in any way a reflection of how I felt about Tom, after reading today’s paper, pls (sic) know that is not the case.’
Addressing the backlash on the panel show, she said: ‘This is the thing, I wanted the fairytale with Tom. I wanted the fairytale happy ending but that didn’t happen for me so how now do I move forward with my life?
‘I put Tom first, I put the children first. I just feel like now I need a bit of happiness.’
Kelsey shared the reason she felt the need to address others ‘judgement’ online: ‘I just think that it was really tough for me at the weekend and I just wanted to say to people, It’s ok for me to be happy and please don’t judge me because I’ve really been through it and I don’t need the judgement.
‘As long as my children are happy and my family are happy for me, Tom’s family are happy for me, that’s all that matters.’
Adding: ‘Also, just go and spend time with your family, get offline, and stop trolling people!’
Kelsey Parker recently said she was surprised to develop such a strong relationship with electrician Sean Boggans, but she has been given a ‘new lease of life.’
Tragic: Father-of-two Tom Parker died aged 33 in March last year following an 18-month battle with stage four glioblastoma brain cancer
Candid: The mother-of-two opened up about navigating a new relationship as she described it as ‘not plain sailing’
Finding happiness again: ‘It’s ok for me to be happy and please don’t judge me because I’ve really been through it and I don’t need the judgement’ said Kelsey
Strong: ‘Life’s tough and you have to be resilient, I have been resilient and I feel like I need happiness now’
The widow had previously shared that she thought her late boyband rocker husband would be ‘happy’ if she found love again following his tragic death.
She dated Sean – who was jailed for four years in 2013 for killing a stranger with a single punch – for around five months after they met at a wedding in Greece. In March, around the first anniversary of Tom’s funeral, Kelsey’s romance with Sean came to an end.
But they got back together soon after as they met at a mutual friend’s wedding in Greenwich, south London.
Discussing her new autobiography she revealed: ‘This has been the hardest thing I’ve done, I can’t read the book without crying.
‘It’s a real realisation that this has been my life for the last three years and I think when Tom got diagnosed, I didn’t have time to think.
‘I was on this mission… “Come on, I’ve got to keep him alive” and then I got to the point where obviously he died and then it was like, now it’s my kids and now I move forward, and how do I get through this without the love of my life?’
Kelsey also discussed how she keeps Tom’s memory alive for her two young children, she said: ‘Do you know what, he’s so present in our house.
‘There’s still the pictures from our wedding and everything, Tom’s still in our house but you know for them it’s constant.
‘This morning, I did a little video of her and she said ‘can you text that to Daddy?’ but it’s constant, you know, we’re always talking about Daddy.
‘I said ‘Mummy can’t do that, Daddy’s watching you, he can see that you’re singing and dancing but I can’t actually send that video to Daddy this morning’.’
New relationship: Kelsey recently revealed how she was surprised to develop such a strong relationship with electrician Sean Boggans, but she has been given a ‘new lease of life
Responding to the trolls: She said: ‘As long as my children are happy and my family are happy for me, Tom’s family are happy for me, that’s all that matters’
Moving forward: ‘I put Tom first, I put the children first. I just feel like now I need a bit of happiness’ explained Kelsey
The mother admitted she’s still open with her children about her emotions: ‘If I’m having a sad day and I’m crying I’m like, I’m so sad because Dad’s not here now.’
She went on to say that she worries about how she deals with certain situations: ‘They are amazing because she’ll have that moment this morning where she’s like ‘where’s Daddy?’ but on the next breath she’s saying, ‘Where are we going tomorrow and what are we doing?’
‘It’s like George and his muddy puddles, and he’s jumping in and out of them, and that is what it’s like with them. We’ll have this moment and then you think, ‘Have I been ok? Have I addressed that correctly? Did I say everything right?’ And then she’s asking ‘What are we doing tomorrow?’
Responding to what she’d like to achieve in her life going forwards, Kelsey said: ‘There’s so much! You know, it’s living for today, living for now. Tom has taught me that we’re not guaranteed tomorrow so be present, with the children, with whatever you want to do in your career, in your future.
‘Take every opportunity and seize it because he didn’t get the ‘tomorrow’ did he. He died at 33 so it’s been a massive, massive learning curve for me as a person.’
