A victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing says the emotional pain of losing his partner in the attack outweighs the suffering caused by his life-changing injuries.
Paul Price spoke to Good Morning Britain today (GMB) ahead of the screening of the second part of a new documentary marking the fifth anniversary of the attack, in which 22 people were killed by suicide bomber Salman Abedi.
The 22-year-old bomber, a Mancunian of Libyan descent, also died at the scene, after detonating a bomb in the foyer area of the Arena moments after a concert by US popstar Ariana Grande ended.
Paul’s partner 43-year-old Elaine, a detective constable serving in the Cheshire Police, died in the blast, while Paul suffered a broken leg, shrapnel injuries over his body and burns to his head and face while the pair were waiting to pick up his daughter Gabriella, then 13.
Speaking to GMB from Glasgow, father-of-two Paul, who was 49 at the time of the attack, said being able to talk about his experience has been helpful, and that he always takes the opportunity to open up.
Paul Price (pictured) appeared on Good Morning Britain this morning to talk about how being a victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing had affected his life
He spoke about his partner Elaine McIver (pictured, right), a detective constable for Cheshire Police, who was killed by the blast
He said: ‘[It helps] especially to talk about Elaine. In the early days I found it hard to talk about Elaine because the hurt, the loss, the sadness was too great. It was too upsetting.
‘But now that I can, I love talking about her and to highlight what happened to me…I’m happy and able to talk about it now.’
Paul, who was in hospital for eight months after the bombing, says he has ‘lost count’ of how many operations he’s had over the last five years, undergoing 20 operations during the time he was in a coma alone.
He’s lost his hearing in one ear, and has almost lost the use of one of his legs.
But he said the physical injuries ‘don’t compare to the loss of Elaine’.
Loss: According to Paul (pictured, right) his extensive, life-changing injuries don’t compare to the pain of losing his partner Elaine (pictured, right)
Paul Price (pictured, left) said he is now able to speak to his 18-year-old daughter Gabriella about Elaine, which used to be too painful
Speaking about Elaine, he said: ‘She was everything to me, she was the love of my life, I was the love of her life.
She was one of those people you meet and you feel you’ve known them forever. She was someone…who you’d want to open up to.
‘She was someone everyone went to with their problems…what can I say? To me she was everything, she was my world, and now living without her every day is so difficult, but i know she’d want me to carry on and live the best life I could and be happy…and I try and do that.’
Paul (pictured) says he is trying to life the best life he can, as he knows that is what Elaine would have wanted him to do
Paul’s partner Elaine McIver (pictured) was one of the 22 people who died as a result of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing
Speaking about his daughter Gabrielle, who is now 18, he said: ‘She’s been so brave, as has my son.
‘You can’t look inside their heads, but from my point of view, she’s doing everything an 18-year-old should be doing. You can’t look inside their heads, but I hope she’s fine.’
Paul added that he’s now able to speak to his daughter about the tragedy.
‘It’s still a touchy subject…,’ he said, ‘but we are able to talk about it, not so much about what happened, but bringing Elaine into the conversation.’
Part two of Worlds Collide: The Manchester Bombing airs on ITV airs tonight.
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