Jonnie Irwin, 49, cries as he reveals he’s been at ‘death’s door twice’ from terminal cancer
Jonnie Irwin burst into tears as he revealed he was dying “at least twice” battling terminal cancer.
The 49-year-old A Place In The Sun presenter was given six months to live when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020, which has since spread to his brain.
Jonnie said the terrifying health issues are some of the few times he and his beloved wife Jessica, 40, have spoken about the harsh realities of his prognosis.
In a candid new interview on the OneChat podcast with AIG life, Jonnie said, “The program is to try and stay positive. Positive for me is burying my head in the sand a bit.
“Jess and I don’t talk much about it and we’ve been close to death a few times now. At least twice.
Heartbreaking: Jonnie Irwin burst into tears as he revealed he was dying ‘at least twice’ battling terminal cancer
Jonnie said the terrifying health issues are some of the few times he and his beloved wife Jessica have talked about the harsh realities of his prognosis
“Other than those times, we haven’t really talked about it. Financially, we are slowly getting things in place, transferring account information and putting things in her name, but being positive is such an important factor. I do that by not talking about it too much.’
In the interview, Jonnie cried as he recalled the “cruel” day when he walked home to tell his wife, “I won’t be here anymore.”
The TV presenter was filming A Place In The Sun in Italy when he started seeing “weird gold spots” while driving.
A crew member who was in the car with him was concerned at the time and took him straight to the hospital where he was told he had nodules around his brain.
Jonnie got a flight straight back to the UK and went to hospital.
He said, “Within a few hours I was told I had cancer. And I was like “right”.
“A few hours later, my good friend Rahul sat with me when they said it was terminal cancer and I had six months to live.
“Have you ever heard the expression that it has knocked the wind out of you? Nothing had ever done that to me and it did.
“I was just mistreated.”
Emotional: In the interview, Jonnie cried as he recalled the ‘cruel’ day when he walked home to tell his wife, ‘I won’t be here anymore’
Devastating: Jessica had just given birth to their twins, Rafa and Cormac, now two, two months before Jonnie’s diagnosis. The couple are also the parents of Rex, four
The father-of-three walked home dazed as he struggled to understand the diagnosis and the daunting prospect of telling Jessica.
Jessica had given birth to their twins, Rafa and Cormac, just two or two months earlier. The couple are also the parents of Rex, four.
“I didn’t think I was that shaky,” Jonnie said through tears.
‘I was really upset. I had to go home and I had to tell my wife and that’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
“How do you tell a woman who just had twins two months earlier? How do you tell them you won’t be here anymore?
“I can remember it like it was yesterday. I have no memory since I had brain therapy, but that b****y memory stays in my head and it’s relentless.
“All I can remember is hugging her and just saying sorry and now I’m still feeling sorry.”
Jonnie had weeks of tests and bad news, but was given a two to three year lifeline when doctors discovered his cancer had a mutation.
He said: ‘The word mutation is normally terrifying, but before this it was the best possible news.
“That mutation meant they had a drug that could target some defect in the cancer and buy me an extra two or three years.
“I remember driving off and just bursting into tears. That was the first bit of positive news I had in weeks and I felt I had a break.
“This miracle drug Osimertinib is going to give me two to three years.
‘It didn’t. And so the lesions have grown again six months later.’
The two to three years doctors had given him “suddenly evaporated,” and within six months of getting his diagnosis, Jonnie was undergoing brain therapy, which he described as “brutal.”
“You lose all your barnet, you lose your memory and you lose patience,” he said,
“I have a very hot temper, it hasn’t made me a better person, that’s for sure.
Horrible: Jonnie was given just six months to live when he was diagnosed in August 2020 with stage four lung cancer, which has spread to his brain (pictured with co-host Jasmine Harman)
‘Every day is a challenge, but I stay as positive as possible. If that means burying my head in the sand, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’
Jonnie also revealed the reason why he kept his cancer battle a secret for two years.
He said, ‘The only reason I kept it a secret is because I have to earn, I have to feed my babies, pay the bills.
“And as soon as you say you have cancer, people just write you off.
“I had to live with it like a secret. It was really hard to live with such a huge cloud above me and pretend to everyone.
‘I was able to work for the first year and a half. Unfortunately, one of the companies claimed they could not insure and did not renew my contract. It left a huge hole in my income.
“I felt like I had been thrown on the scrap heap. Within a week they had hired people and then I saw someone else doing my job.’
Jonnie said it was when he hid from photo shoots and took selfies with fans that he decided to speak out about his terminal diagnosis.
He said, “The day came when I decided I was going to tell the world and I thought as well maybe I’d get some money for the family.
“A huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders. The day I came out and told the world I have terminal cancer is the day I started living again. I started being Jonnie Irwin again.
“I feel really alive.”
Jonnie said he’s made some lifestyle changes, from his diet to making sure he gets enough sleep at night.
But he has stopped working out after his health took a “massive downturn” a few months ago.
He said: ‘I used to exercise regularly until three months ago when my health suddenly deteriorated.
“I went from doing 40 pushups in the morning to I can’t do any now. I just stopped because it reminded me I can’t.”
Jonnie has now bought some exercise equipment in hopes of getting back to what he loves.
He also plans to seek help from a therapist.
Jonnie said, “I probably only cried five times. I need to speak to someone and open Pandora’s box.’
From Lutterworth to Lanzarote: How former estate agent Jonnie Irwin’s TV career took off after beating hundreds to present A Place in the Sun
TV presenter Jonnie Irwin has revealed he suffers from terminal cancer and says he hopes sharing his terminal cancer diagnosis will inspire others to ‘make the most of every day’
Born in 1973, Jonnie Irwin grew up in Bitteswell, Leicestershire, and attended Lutterworth Grammar School and Community College before becoming a real estate agent.
In 2004 Irwin along with co-presenter Jasmine Harman were selected from hundreds of applicants to present Channel 4’s show A Place In The Sun – Home Or Away. The real estate program was a surprise hit and was widely syndicated. Irwin also regularly presents BBC’s Escape To The Country and To Buy Or Not To Buy.
In January 2011, Sky 1 broadcast Irwin’s own show called Dream Lives for Sale in which he helped people leave their lives in the UK to buy their dream business.
Later that year he started a new series The Renovation Game which aired weekday mornings on Channel 4.
In addition to presenting, he is also a commercial director for Judicare, which describes itself as a ‘specialty law firm providing legal advice to clients on all matters related to foreign real estate’.
Irwin married Jessica Holmes in September 2016. Together they have three sons and lived in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire before moving to Newcastle.
On November 13, Irwin was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He told Hello magazine, “I don’t know how long I have left, but I’m trying to stay positive and my attitude is that I’m living with cancer, not dying from it.”