Comedian Rob Delaney speaks out about ‘nightmare’ aftermath of his two-year-old son’s death from brain cancer – as he admits ‘a lot of things aren’t fine’ six years later

Rob Delaney has spoken candidly about the ‘horrific’ aftermath of the death of his two-year-old son Henry, describing the loss of his ‘beautiful’ son as a ‘nightmare’.

During an appearance on Today with Hoda & Jenna on Monday morning, the 47-year-old actor, who is married to wife Leah, described Henry as “charming and brilliant” but admitted that “there are a lot of things that aren’t okay” six years after his passing.

When Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager asked Rob about his 2022 memoir, A Heart That Works, which he wrote after Henry’s death, Catastrophe said, “He died of a brain tumor that he was diagnosed with around his first birthday. And yes, he died in early 2018 and he was just the sweetest little, most wonderful guy.

“We say that about all our kids, but Henry was better than other kids. He was so funny, and his brain tumor was in the back of his head, right by his brain stem, so that gave him a lot of physical problems, because that stuff is controlled there, but his frontal lobe was fine.”

Rob continued: ‘He was very funny and smart and charming and handsome and flirtatious and silly and brilliant. He learned sign language because he couldn’t speak because of a tracheotomy, so just a great kid.

Rob and his wife Leah sadly lost their two-year-old son Henry in 2018 after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor

‘And yes, you mentioned the book, I wrote a book about him because I wanted people to know about him. And I also thought, there’s a lot written about grief where people are like, “But then one day the sun came out,” and I thought, “Yeah, enough of that nonsense.”

‘It’s a nightmare and I thought the best thing I could do was explain how awful it is and maybe give the reader some hope that my family is ‘okay’ now. But I didn’t want to be prescriptive and say ‘it’s all going to be okay’ because there are a lot of things that aren’t okay.’

When Hoda, 59, told him they were “glad” he wanted to talk about it, Rob replied, “No, I love talking about him. He’s my son, I’m his dad, his brothers miss him, his mom misses him and he’s still part of our family and so I don’t know how not to talk about him.”

Earlier this month, Rob admitted he feared he wouldn’t be able to love his fourth son because his heart was “destroyed” after Henry died of cancer.

The 47-year-old comedian, who hails from Massachusetts but lives in North London, spoke candidly about Henry on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs with presenter Lauren Laverne.

In the candid interview, Rob admitted he worried he wouldn’t be able to love his younger brother after Henry’s death, saying his heart was “torn to pieces.”

He said, ‘I remember thinking when he was about to be born, “Well, my heart is broken, it’s been torn apart and destroyed, and it’s just garbage, so I’m going to take care of this child, I’m going to feed him, I’m going to dress him in clothes that fit, am I going to be able to love him? I don’t know if I can anymore.”

“But the moment he left my wife’s body, I looked at him and started crying, and I was so in love with him… I love him to bits. But you have to feel your pain and honor it. When the feelings come, it’s best to let them go.”

Rob described the loss of his ‘beautiful’ child as a ‘nightmare’ but says he is happy to talk about him

Rob pictured with his wife Leah at the British Academy Television Craft Awards in April 2018

In the emotional interview, Rob also talked about Henry’s last months.

“He had a good death. His last months — we had four and a half months where we knew he was going to die — his brothers just absolutely adored him,” he said.

‘They all loved each other so much… I’ve seen a four-year-old and a six-year-old holding their brother’s dead body, I’ve seen them take incredible care of him and teach him difficult things, because the care required really intensive things.

“I just hate to think that they don’t have him. I really hate it.

“They talk about him all the time and they love him. They laugh when they talk about him and they love looking at pictures of him. He’s an important part of our lives.”