Debbie McGee has advised fellow widows to keep hold of their late spouse’s belongings for at least "the first year".
The ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star lost her beloved magician husband Paul Daniels 19 months ago after he was diagnosed with a massive brain tumour, and she has offered words of advice to anyone who is also in mourning, saying that they should "throw out nothing" while they are still in shock from their partner’s death.
She said: "I would advise other widows to throw out nothing for the first year. You don’t know what you are doing, you might regret it later."
Debbie and Paul were married for 28 years and the blonde beauty opened up about adjusting to life without the TV legend and admitted she finds it tough now that his death has sunk in.
She continued in an interview with the Daily Mail newspaper: "All the birthdays and anniversaries are awful, painful, horrendous, but you get through them somehow. Then it becomes more real because the shock goes. Now I realise that Paul is really not coming back, and that is hard."
Debbie – who worked as Paul’s stage assistant throughout their lives together – is now competing on the BBC ballroom and talent show with professional dancer Giovanni Pernice and admitted she is enjoying being front and centre stage.
She continued in an interview with the Daily Mail newspaper: "Paul had such a big personality, he was The One, not me. On television shows they always held me back because I was the little assistant in a box, I was always the little wife, edited out.
"You know, I haven’t just suddenly developed a personality for ‘Strictly’ because Paul has died. I have always been cheeky and bubbly and a joker, but the public never really got to see me like that."
Debbie McGee offers advice to fellow widows: Throw nothing away
