“The months after that I was so upset and obviously devastated.”
Irish model Pippa O’Connor has spoken about the devastating loss of her mother.
Pippa’s mum Louise passed away in 2014, and during a recent podcast appearance, she shared how losing her “completely changed” her.
In conversation with Roxie Nafousi on the Moments That Made Me podcast, Pippa said: “My mum died suddenly. Literally out of the blue my mum passed away, and that was incredibly shocking number one, but it was a real moment. The months after that I was so upset and obviously devastated.”
She then shared that she tried to “process” it, but ultimately, it just felt like the carpet had been swept out from underneath her.
Pippa went on to explain how the tragic loss made her realise how precious life is.
She said: “When you face a tragedy like that which shakes you, you’re faced with this ‘do I stay bitter and sad or do I take this and learn from it and give it socks?’ Because I now realise life is for living.
“Your life can change tomorrow so you have to be true to yourself, put yourself forward and just do everything to the best of your ability and try to be happy.”
Pippa also spoke about how strange it was to lose her mother after becoming a mum herself.
“It completely changed me,” she said. “I’d just become a mum myself and then losing my mum, it was just the weirdest year. Six months after that is a complete haze and I said to my husband, ‘I don’t really remember that or that time.'”
The model continued: “My first reaction in the first three to six months of survival mode was just to get on with other things and I probably didn’t process it and a part of me acted like it didn’t happen, it was the only way I could deal with it.”
She also said that her husband Brian played an important role in supporting her during the difficult period.
