Michael Flatley has recalled the “heartbreaking” moment he said goodbye to his late ex-fiancée Lisa Murphy.
The Irish socialite and former model sadly passed away at the age of 51 on February 1st, following a long battle with cancer.
The Riverdance star, who was engaged to Lisa in the early 2000s, visited her in hospital the day before she died.
During a new interview with the Sunday Independent, Michael said: “I spent time on my own with Lisa. I said the rosary, a little bit of it. I didn’t get through all of it when her parents arrived.
“But I was able to tell her some truths to take into the next world. And I am so happy I did. She opened her eyes just enough for me to know. It meant the f**king world to me.
“You know, if you’ve ever had an ex in your life… there are things you’ve always wanted to say that you were never allowed to say, in the aftermath [of a break-up] – if that makes any sense. It’s heartbreaking to… say goodbye.”
The 65-year-old attended Lisa’s funeral in Ballinteer with his wife Niamh O’Brien.
Michael recalled feeling: “I was sitting in the front row, thinking: ‘Jesus, Lisa is in that box. She’s in a box right in front of me there.’
“She was a lovely, lovely human being, a lovely person. She was friendly, happy and very decent. I have great memories of her. She’ll be sorely missed. It was heartbreaking – you know, cancer.”
Lisa was a familiar face on Irish television, and even appeared on the reality series Dublin Wives.
She was previously engaged to celebrity lawyer Gerald Kean, but the pair split in 2016 after over a decade together.
In 2011, Lisa faced a similar situation to reality star Kim Kardashian, who was tied up and held at gunpoint during her Paris robbery in 2016.
In May of 2011, the TV personality was held up at knifepoint by thieves at Gerald’s mansion Drayton Manor.
The robbers stole thousands of euros worth of jewellery from the invasion.
Following Kim’s Paris nightmare, Lisa spoke out about the traumatising ordeal for the first time.
She said: “It was bringing me back to when I went through it and it’s just horrendous.
“I suppose with the security we had in the house, you never think it’s going to happen to you, that’s what everybody thinks,”
“It’s not even the jewellery – it’s the aftermath of it all. They don’t realise the impact it has on your life, your future. Kim will get worse before she gets better. She will think she’s okay, like I did, and then it will hit her – post-traumatic stress. “I obviously know what she went through and it’s horrendous.”
