Debbie McGee shares grief counsellors' advice, following husband Paul Daniels death
Debbie McGee has shared the advice experts have given her to help deal with her grief, following the death of her husband.
The TV star, 63, was married to magician Paul Daniels from 1988 until his death, aged 77, from a brain tumour in 2016.
"What grief counsellors tell you is that it’s not that time heals, but that you have to build a bigger life around your grief," she told Hello! magazine. "And that’s how I feel. I had this amazing life with Paul.
"I led a princess life. Usually if you’re in a double act, when one partner goes, the other one struggles. The strength of the two has gone.”
She met Daniels in 1979 during rehearsals for one of his shows, and romance blossomed after he asked her to become his assistant.
Read more: Debbie McGee reveals she and magician Paul Daniels shared jokes until the end
Six years after his death, the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant has decided to auction off 600 lots of his belongings for fans to enjoy.
This includes the 'Geometrix', which is a typical magician's box where swords go through the sides.
“I don’t need to hang on to all of this – my memories are what I have,” adds McGee. “For the magical world to have even a little something of Paul’s is a big thing.”
Earlier this year, the star revealed in an interview with The Mirror, that they'd shared jokes until the very end.
However, she recalled: “This cruel disease stripped him of everything within a few short weeks to the point where he collapsed on the bathroom floor and I held him as he wept and asked me what was happening.”
Read more: The five stages of grief – how to cope with loss
She revealed that doing Strictly in 2017 had been invaluable for helping change her life, because she was no longer just the "magician's assistant".
Having been partnered up with Giovanni Pernice, she reached the grand final of the BBC dance show.
Watch: Celebrities reveal their mental health struggles
