Jonnie Irwin has opened up about a devastating mistake he made after learning of his terminal cancer diagnosis.
The former A Place In The Sun presenter, 49, publicly revealed his diagnosis was terminal last month.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2020 after experiencing an episode of blurry vision whilst driving in Italy, with tests revealing the cancer had also spread to his brain.
The TV star recently appeared on Morning Live with hosts Gethin Jones and Kimberley Walsh, where he shared how his diagnosis made him take a closer look into his finances, leading to regret about not taking out critical illness cover alongside his life insurance.
"It's funny when you get diagnosed with something so serious, all control gets taken away from you and so I wanted to take control back,” he said.
Going on to explain how he wanted to protect his family for when he’s no longer here, Jonnie – who shares Rex, three, and twins Rafa and Cormac, two with his wife Jessica Holmes – said: “I knew I had to look after my family, it's an amazing thing, once you have a family you have this massive responsibility.
"Being freelance, I had a couple of properties, I wanted to try and be in a position to get my family into a mortgage-free situation so I sold my buy-to-lets.
"To some extent, I'd done all that I could. But I wish I'd done more, certainly in terms of life insurance."
He continued: "What I didn't realise is that there's a gap and critical illness covers this gap. So when you get a terminal diagnosis, it covers you for when you're gone.
"But a terminal diagnoses can go on for years and it will affect…your illness affects your work, so if you're unable to work and you're waiting for this payout, who is going to pay the rent?
"So critical illness is a policy you take alongside that and that kicks in as soon as you're ill.
"I didn't take that and that put a lot of pressure on me, having to work on days when I didn't want to go to work, and that's one mistake I say to everyone – get it out."
As he revealed his terminal diagnosis last month, Jonnie told how doctors had given him just six months to live, but he has outlived doctor’s predictions with the help of medication, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The Escape To The Country presenter recently took his eldest son Rex to visit Father Christmas after confessing this could his last festive season.
He told The Sun: "I’d be lying if I didn’t say that Christmas will be tricky. I’m not saying this will be my last one because I don’t know for certain.
"I want to be here as long as I can but it could be and I want to enjoy it and just spend time with Jess and the kids."
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