Shane MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke, has revealed grief ‘is not as bad’ as she was expecting it to be.
On November 30 in the early hours of the morning, The Pogues frontman passed away ‘peacefully’ aged 65 – only weeks shy of his 66th on Christmas Day.
In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Victoria – who wed the singer in 2018 – shared that she spent decades worrying about Shane passing away.
However, now the unfortunate time is upon her, the 57-year-old explained the abundance of love and support she has received has helped her manage.
‘I spent many many years, probably at least 35 years worried about losing Shane as he pushed boundaries so much with what humans can do to their body,’ she said.
Shane MacGowan’s wife Victoria told Good Morning Britain on Tuesday that grief ‘is not as bad’ as she expected it to be following the death of The Pogues frontman on Thursday
Victoria has said she feared losing her husband for 35 years and thought she might die herself should the worst happen – pictured together in 2007
‘I dreaded that. I thought that I would fall apart. I thought I’d die, I thought I’d not be able to speak, comatosed or go on drugs myself – something like that.’
She continued that she has been ‘overwhelmed by the amount of love‘ she received following her husband’s death.
‘I want you all to know it’s [losing a loved one] not as bad as you think it’s going to be and there’s a huge amount of love that comes your way when you lose someone that you didn’t really expect.’
Good Morning Britain presenters, Susanna Reid and Ed Balls extended admiration to the widow for her positivity in the wake of tragedy.
They also shared how they would love to see The Pogues’ iconic Christmas hit, Fairytale Of New York, finally bag the number one spot.
The song, released in 1988 peaked at number two, never achieving the top charts spot, even though polls would regularly hail it as the best Christmas song ever written.
This comes after fans sparked a campaign to get the festive single to number one following Shane’s death – a feat which could earn the band £500,000 in royalties.
The Pogues frontman passed away ‘peacefully’ in the early hours of the morning on November 30 (pictured: Victoria and Shane in 2023)
The journalist admitted that she had been ‘overwhelmed’ by the amount of love and support she has received following her husband’s death and that it has helped her cope (pictured: Victoria and Shane)
Good Morning Britain hosts, Ed Balls and Susanna Reid (pictured) praised the widow, adding that they would love to see The Pogues Christmas hit finally go number one after three decades
After remaining a stalwart on the radio for well over three decades, the song is the bookmakers’ favourite to bag the coveted title.
At the moment, the track is still behind other festive classics like Wham!’s Last Christmas and Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You.
Although fans and famous faces, such as Piers Morgan, are keen to see the tune at the top of the charts, Victoria explained that her husband ‘wouldn’t mind too much’ about the singles placement.
‘I don’t know if it was ever that important to him. He really appreciated the fact that so many people love it and it means so much to so many people. Being number one isn’t really all about being appreciated.’
The journalist also divulged that she originally thought the hit was ‘a bit cheesy’, but loves the festive track now.
The Celtic punk rocker was being treated in hospital since June of this year and had come back home shortly before he passed away.
Victoria revealed they spent his final months ‘happy’ and enjoying the quiet life.
‘We spent most of our recent years sitting at home watching The Crown. We were happy. That’s what we wanted,’ she said
Although fans and famous face alike – such as Piers Morgan – have sparked a campaign to get The Pogues single, Fairytale Of New York to number one, his wife revealed Shane ‘wouldn’t mind too much’ (pictured: Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan in 1988)
Victoria shared that the pair enjoyed a ‘quiet life’ during The Pogues singer’s final years, often watching The Crown (pictured in 2022)
