‘How I overcame GRIEF'

Zoe Ball opens up about her late boyfriend Billy Yates and how she’s moving on

- ROBYN MORRIS

Losing him was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my life.’ These were Zoe Ball’s words describing the moment her life was turned upside down, when her boyfriend Billy Yates tragically took his own life in 2017. The cameraman and technician battled with a long history of depression – and now Zoe wants to make sure anyone else going through the same thing gets the help they need, insisting ‘there is hope’.

Zoe and Billy were friends for years before getting together in 2016 after her marriage to DJ Norman Cook ended. On Instagram, she says of Billy, ‘You are forever in our hearts.’

Three years on from his death, Zoe is happily loved-up with construction boss Michael Reed, but it’s not been easy…

REMEMBERING BILLY

On the third anniversary of his death, Zoe paid tribute to Billy on Instagram. She wrote, ‘Billy, 3 years. Your love lives on in the hearts of all your dear ones, angel. Always the rainbow coming around the bend. Power, strength & love for those in need of love today.’

Opening up about losing Billy in May 2017, Zoe recently admitted that coping with the grief had been the biggest challenge of her life.