‘People think I should be over it by now’: Tearful Lisa Riley admits she feels ‘judged’ for continuing to grieve for her mum nine years after her death
Emmerdale star Lisa Riley broke down in tears on Monday as she revealed that she is still grieving the loss of her beloved mother nine years after her passing.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, the 45-year-old actress detailed her ongoing struggles as she announced she was launching a podcast about grief.
Lisa’s mother Cathy battled breast cancer for more than a decade before she died in the arms of her daughter in 2012.
‘People think I should be over it by now’: Tearful Lisa Riley admitted she feels ‘judged’ for continuing to grieve for her mum nine years after her death during an appearance on Lorraine
Lisa said that there’s no timetable for losing a loved one, and ‘everybody deals with loss in their own way’ – something she will explore in the podcast.
She also touched on the fact that she feels ‘judged’ for continuing to grieve nearly a decade after her mother’s tragic passing.
She mused: ‘I wanted to be unbelievably honest and tell the truth about what I go through daily.
‘The uphill struggle I have massively with being judged. I have it on set with Emmerdale when I’m at work.’
Heartbreaking: Lisa’s mother Cathy battled breast cancer for more than a decade before she died in the arms of her daughter in 2012 (pictured together)
Lisa – who plays Mandy Dingle in the ITV soap – continued: ‘Everyone knows me as having this fun, happy personality which is me. But the days I’m down, I find myself going, “It’s okay, it’s okay” because I feel like I’m being judged.
‘People are like, “Come on Lise, it’s been nine years – you should be over it by now.” Well no – it’s as worse today as when mum initially passed nine years ago in July.’
Cathy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and died 12 years later surrounded by her family.
Heartbreaking: Speaking on Lorraine , the 45-year-old actress detailed her ongoing struggles as she announced she was launching a podcast about grief
Lisa told The Mirror shortly afterwards: ‘[The cancer] went into her ovaries, then her pelvis. When it reaches the pelvis… boom, it goes round the body like a firework. I knew then that it wasn’t good.
‘She died in my arms. She was at my house. The entire family was there and we laughed together on the morning that she passed away.
‘That was Mum. It was wonderful. She had dignity. She was fun and smiles to the very, very end.’
Take it at your own pace: Lisa said that there’s no timetable for losing a loved one, and ‘everybody deals with loss in their own way’
Speaking to The Metro earlier this month, Lisa reflected on her mother’s final days, revealing Cathy was living on just one baby yoghurt a day and was in palliative care.
Despite her ailing health, Cathy decided she wanted to celebrate Lisa’s birthday with a meal out.
Lisa recalled ‘That really breaks my heart because she made such a difference. She came to the restaurant, she was so poorly, and as always, she ordered her garlic prawns.’
Fighting back tears, Lisa continued: ‘She was so ill, but she did it and she was there so forever I can remember it. For my birthday, she made that effort. I think in life, what a legacy to leave.’
Judgement: Lisa (pictured on Emmerdale) also touched on the fact that she feels ‘judged’ for continuing to grieve nearly a decade after her mother’s tragic passing