Gogglebox star Pete McGarry’s wife Linda says 'he was my life' after heartbreaking death

30 June 2021, 08:16 | Updated: 30 June 2021, 08:20

Gogglebox star Pete died aged 71 after he was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

Linda from Gogglebox has said her family have been left heartbroken after the sudden death of her husband Pete McGarry.

Pete passed away at home in Essex over the weekend at the age of 71-years-old after being diagnosed with cancer.

The couple previously appeared on the Channel 4 show alongside Linda’s son, George.

• Gogglebox star Pete McGarry dies aged 71

Linda told The Sun: “Pete was a lovely man and I was so lucky to have him for 25 years.

“I said to him, ‘We’ve not only been 25 years, it’s been day and night with each other.' He was my life.

“I have a message from a young lad I know who said, ‘Ordinary people won’t be remembered, but we’ll remember Pete forever - like the pyramids.' I thought that was beautiful."

She added: "He was so proud of George when he was in Big Brother too. Him and George really loved each other, George is really cut up."

Pete only discovered he had bowel cancer days before he passed away, despite undergoing an operation to remove the tumour.

The reality star was told by doctors he had six months to live, but passed away just days later.

Linda met Pete when she was running a pub in Witham, Essex and they went on to run their own pub in Braintree.

Before they joined the Gogglebox line up, the couple fostered more than 100 children, with Linda revealing many had reached out to her.

“I’ve had marvellous support from all the foster children,” she said.

“The phone has not stopped ringing. We fostered for 21 years and we looked after more than 100 kids.

“They’re all over the world. We’re so proud of what we’ve done for them and the successes they’ve all had.

“We didn’t have children together ourselves but many of the foster children are like our own."

Linda is mum to two sons, while Pete is dad to two daughters from his first marriage to late wife Sue.