Tom Parker died on Wednesday March 30 at age 33, after a battle with brain cancer. The Wanted singer’s wife Kelsey shared the news of his passing in a heartbreaking Instagram post. She wrote that he’d been surrounded by his family when he peacefully died. Kelsey thanked those who helped with his treatment in a touching statement. “Thank you to everyone who has supported in his care throughout, he fought until the very end,” she wrote.
Kelsey penned an emotional eulogy for her late husband. “Our hearts are broken, Tom was the centre of our world and we can’t imagine life without his infectious smile and energetic presence. We are truly thankful for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we all unite to ensure Tom’s light continues to shine for his beautiful children,” she wrote.
Tom had announced that he’d been diagnosed with a brain tumor in October 2020, and he received much support from people all over the world including his former bandmates. He’d shared that he was diagnosed with the inoperable brain tumor and Stage IV glioblastoma. He’d revealed that his tumor had had a significant reduction in January 2021. The band reunited in 2021 and released a greatest hits album and performed a charity concert for Tom.
Born in Bolton, England in 1988, Tom became a member of the boy band in 2009. The Wanted released their self-titled debut album in 2010, and they quickly rose to fame in the U.K. Their breakout American single “Glad You Came” came from their sophomore album Battleground, and it was released in 2011. The band ended up splitting up in 2014, and they were on hiatus until their 2021 reunion.
The Wanted said that they decided to do much more than just a reunion when the devastating news of Tom’s cancer diagnosis came in, in a bio on their website. “The boys first discussed getting back together in early 2020 to celebrate their 10th anniversary but then came the devastating news that Tom Parker, had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Tom, in his characteristically no-nonsense manner, decided to turn a personal tragedy into something more positive and set out to make a documentary for Channel 4 and Stand Up To Cancer titled ‘Tom Parker-Inside My Head,'” the website said.
After the band went on pause, Tom dabbled a little in solo music, featuring on Richard Rawson’s track “Fireflies” in 2014, and releasing a solo single “Undiscovered” in 2015. He also appeared in a few reality TV shows, including The Jump and one episode of Celebrity MasterChef, per IMDb. During the hiatus, he also spent time to start his family. Tom and Kelsey got married in 2018, and they have a daughter Aurelia, 2, and Bodhi, 1. Kelsey shared a number of photos of the whole family to her Instagram.