Lottie Ryan has remembered her late father Gerry in an emotional tribute, on the 11th anniversary of his death.
The RTÉ star died suddenly at the age of 53 on April 30, 2010 after suffering a heart attack.
Speaking on 2fm this morning, Gerry’s eldest child Lottie said: “It’s 11 years today, which is wild to me, wild! Because in so many ways it feels like yesterday, and then in so many ways it does feel like a lifetime ago because I feel like I haven’t seen him in so long.”
The 35-year-old continued: “I am a very different person now to the person I was 11 years ago.”
“I’d love to meet him now, I’d love to tell him everything that’s happened, I’d love to see what he thinks of where everybody is in life.”
Lottie also revealed they will get together as a family today, and joked that they would run around the house with a cardboard cut-out of Gerry.
“We’ve a very, very black sense of humour in my family,” she said. “But do you know what, I think anybody who goes through loss and grief learns at some point that laughter and finding that smile, even if its only for a brief second, is a window into hope and it means a lot to people.”
Jennifer Zamparelli then asked Lottie if she finds it easier to talk about Gerry now, compared to a few years ago.
Lottie replied: “Much easier… You didn’t know me 11 years ago but I was cagey, a very very closed book, almost resentful if people brought him up.”
“I found it very hard to process death and healing when I could be having a good day and people just wanted to talk about him all the time.”
“I’m in a very, very different head space now. I have zero issue talking about him, and it took me a long time to get to this point.”
“So you know I worked through a lot, but I got here. And now, yeah it doesn’t bother me at all talking about him anymore, I’m in a very different place now.”
The 35-year-old, who is expecting her first child, also shared her advice for those going through grief at the moment.
“I know there’s a lot of people going through grief these days with Covid, and there’s a lot of people going through it who might feel very isolated and like they haven’t got the support of people around them,” she said.
“As somebody who is 11 years into it, let me tell you guys I promise it gets easier. I know, whoever you are with the big hole in your chest, I promise you it gets easier, it gets better, and life can be wonderful again.”
“I promise it does. And it’s not taking away from the person at all who has passed away and the impact they had on your life, but it absolutely gets easier.”
Wrapping up their conversation, Jennifer said: “I just want to finish up by saying on behalf of the Irish public who listened to Gerry and loved Gerry so much, thank you for all of those years of laughter, and tears, and entertainment.”
“What a legend, and I feel truly honoured to even be considered to sit in this seat. I just want to say that.”
Jennifer hosts the 9-12 slot on RTÉ 2fm, which was previously hosted by Gerry.
On the latest episode of the Gosscast, Alexandra Ryan and Kendra Becker are taking a look back at our fave reality star couples from over the years.
If you’re looking for the audio-only version of our chat, you can listen to the Gosscast on Spotify and iTunes.
