Jane McDonald Opens Up on Life After Eddie Roth’s Death: “I’m Not Going to Butter It Up”
Years after the devastating loss of her fiancé, Eddie Roth, Jane McDonald has spoken candidly about navigating life without the man she loved. Roth, her teenage sweetheart and lifelong companion, passed away in March 2021 after battling lung cancer. Although the couple rekindled their romance nearly three decades after first meeting and were engaged since 2008, they never married.
In a statement at the time, McDonald shared her grief openly:
“It is with immense sadness that we share the news that Jane’s beloved life partner, Ed, passed away on Friday 26th March. He had been battling lung cancer for the last few months. We would like to thank everyone for all their help and support during this very difficult time, especially the NHS staff and the wonderful team at The Wakefield Hospice.”
Reflecting on her journey in 2025, the singer admitted the enduring weight of loss. “There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t think of Eddie – it’s awful. I’m not going to butter it up in any way,” she told Heat magazine.
McDonald detailed the strategies she has used to cope, emphasising the balance between grief and joy. “Grief stays with you, but what you have to do is sit it beside joy. You have to bring as much joy into your life as humanly possible, so that you feel more happiness than grief. I’m just about level now. Every day, I do a mantra and say, ‘Right, you can go two ways here – you can either go down that route, or you can go that route.’”
Her emotional journey has been fraught with challenges. In 2024, she told The Times that she had been “traumatised” by Roth’s death, seeking therapy for PTSD after months of exhaustion while caring for him. “I nursed Ed virtually single-handedly. I barely slept and was in a constant state of high alert. When he died, I was emotionally wrung out and physically exhausted. I did a lot of crying and didn’t want to leave the house. When you are grieving, there is nothing as tempting as shutting yourself away. Home becomes your rabbit hole.”
Today, Jane continues to honour Eddie’s memory while embracing small joys in her everyday life. Her story is a poignant testament to enduring love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit.
