My Mum, Your Dad contestant Roger reveals his beloved wife of 31 years ‘went to sleep and never woke up’ after finding cancerous spot behind her ear on family holiday
The star of ITV’s new dating show My Mum, Your Dad captured the hearts of a nation after sharing the heartbreaking story of losing his wife to cancer just 18 months ago.
Roger, 58, a postman, stole the show on a first date with single mum Caroline in last night’s episode when he told how his wife Joanne, 52, went to sleep on the sofa and never woke up.
In an emotional clip, Roger, who had three children with Joanne, told Caroline about their date: ‘We were on holiday in Italy and I just looked behind her ear, and it annoyed her – just a little spot behind her ear.
“I said, ‘You need to get that checked out when you get back,’ and she did. She was seen very quickly and it was melanoma. But little did she know that by then the cancer had gone to her brain.”
And speaking about his late wife on ITV this morning, he explained that she wanted him to find someone new: ‘She was perfect. To send a message and she still has control over me… I wasn’t surprised when I heard what she said.”
On his first date in 40 years, he told Lorraine: ‘I think I was very lucky that it was Caroline, she helped me through it because I was very nervous.’
Tragedy: Roger married his late wife Joanne (pictured), an intensive care nurse, in 1992, but his partner died aged 52
Not ready for love: During an appearance on Lorraine on Tuesday, Roger said: ‘I knew I wasn’t (ready) for it.’ In the photo: Roger with his daughter Jess
Emotional: Roger left fans in tears after revealing his late wife went to sleep on the couch and never woke up
Roger continued: ‘She said ‘I’m really tired’, and I said ‘come on, I’ll put you to bed or do you want to sit on the sofa?’, and she said ‘put me on the sofa”. Then I come in half an hour later and of course I should have called an ambulance straight away.’
Caroline, moved to tears by the story, replied, “But you wouldn’t have known that.”
Roger said, “She’d had breast cancer about three or four years ago, and she’d gotten over it before.”
Roger had admitted that he wasn’t ready to date when he first joined the show.
The dad was nominated to appear on the program by his daughter Jess, who also appears as he tries to find love alongside seven other single people.
Sympathy: Caroline (pictured) was reduced to tears on her first date with Roger after he revealed his wife went to sleep on the sofa and never woke up
Heartbroken: Widower Roger (pictured) left viewers in tears as some said he wasn’t ready for love after the death of his wife 18 months ago
Support: Viewers of Your Mom, My Dad have taken to Twitter to share their love for Roger, who lost his wife to cancer
During an appearance on Lorraine on Tuesday, Roger said: ‘I knew I wasn’t (ready) for it. I loved it and think I’ll get a little better as time goes on. It was hard, but it wasn’t something I could pass up.”
On why his daughter Jess, who works as a planner for Network Rail, nominated him for the series – called Middle-aged Love Island – he explains: ‘She’s a lovely girl.
‘Her mother was very thoughtful about everything – she could plan things down to the last detail – and Jess has that.
“She’s so thoughtful and it was just really sweet of her to say, ‘Dad, look, we understand you’re going through a hard time and it’s been hard and we know you have a lot of love to give and we’re okay if you saw someone else.”
His beloved wife Joanne has been described as a ‘brave, courageous and amazing woman’ in an online charity fundraiser in her honour.
It also says: ‘Jo was an amazing wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin and friend, she brought love, happiness and laughter into the lives of so many people.
“As an intensive care nurse, she showed compassion and kindness to families when they needed it most, and her colleagues will always remember and love her.”
About Lorraine, Roger said: ‘After my wife died eighteen months ago, I didn’t really want to meet anyone anymore.
Pictured with his daughter Jess who nominated him for ITV’s new middle-aged dating show
“You don’t expect it to be you, and you don’t expect it to be your wife.
‘But I’m going to the show to gain some confidence. I must have subconsciously wanted to meet someone by saying yes to the show.”
Speaking about her father, Jess, 28, revealed it was a joint decision between herself and her siblings to apply for the series on his behalf as they are happy he is dating again.
Roger’s story made fans of the show emotional as they shared their support for the widower on social media.
One person wrote on Twitter: ‘It’s only episode one and I already want nothing but the world for Roger, GIVE THAT MAN A HUG. #MyMamaJePapa.’
Another wrote: ‘Ah Roger… What a true gentleman, big heart and the nation loves you. I think we all want to jump through the television and give him a squeeze.”
A third said: ‘Made me blossom… So hard for him.’
New show: The series, which premiered last night, follows a group of middle-aged single parents (pictured with their children) as they head to a romantic getaway in search of love again
A good feeling: Roger said: ‘I’m going to the show to gain some confidence. I must have subconsciously wanted to meet someone by saying yes to the show’
A fourth wrote: ‘Poor Roger and family. His daughter said this is a way of giving him permission to meet someone. It’s not permission he needs, it’s time he’s not ready for it.”
Although it’s been dubbed ‘middle-aged Love Island’, instead of sunbathing in a Spanish villa, they’ll be wandering the gardens of a West Sussex country house.
The show is the brainchild of Davina McCall, who hosts, because she wanted to see contestants “who have lived a life” and show middle-aged people looking for love that “all is not lost for them.”
The show will see parents undergoing dates and bonding workshops, unaware that their children are being watched in embarrassment from an outhouse with ‘pillows over their faces’.