Love Island’s Shaughna Phillips discusses experience with grief
Shaughna Phillips has been opening up about her experience with grief.
The former Love Island star’s dad sadly passed away in December 2016 after being diagnosed with cancer.
While reflecting on memories she has of her dad, Shaughna admitted that she ‘misses him every day’.
Posting a carousel of photos of her and her dad, as well as a plaque dedicated to him, to her 1.4M Instagram followers, Phillips revealed she wants the ‘taboo’ about grief to change.
In the caption of the post, she explained, “Yesterday was Celebration Day, a dedicated day to celebrate the memory of those we love and miss (there are some really beautiful stories on the @celebrationdayuk page)”.
“I often speak about my Dad who passed away in 2016. Grief can be so taboo and I really want that to change. My dad means so much to me and I miss him every day, so I’m always finding ways to honour him and keep his memory alive”.
“He was a massive Gooner, so last year we put up a plaque at the Celebration Corner at the @arsenal Stadium. He would absolutely love the idea of being a part of his club!”.
Shaughna closed off by adding, “Yesterday, Lucia and I visited the plaque and had a good old chat with grandad (I still can’t believe he’s grandad now), giving him an update on everything we’ve been up to, and how Arsenal are deffo winning the league next season”.
Many fans of Shaughna’s took to the comments to share supportive messages with her.
One commenter wrote, “That is so beautiful, sending love to you”.
“Lucia has ur dads face and I love that for u. She will live that memory on for u”, said another fan. A third added, “Aawww… your daughter is the image of her grandad”.
When marking the seventh year of her dad’s tragic death in December of last year, the mum-of-one spoke about wishing that he could’ve met her one-year-old daughter Lucia before he passed away.
In a touching tribute to him, Shaughna penned, “7 years since you went to heaven dad. 7 years since I last saw you, cuddled you, kissed you goodnight. How does it feel like forever and yesterday all at once?”.
“I wish you met Lucia, she would have you wrapped round her little finger. But I’m sure she was handpicked for me by you, because she has healed parts of my heart I thought were broken forever”.
The former reality star added, “Not a day has gone by that you’re not thought of / spoken about. Until we meet again, I love you forever”.
