I became A WIDOW AT 29

After her husband died, Nicole Fergesen was left alone with their three young children - but now she has learnt to love again

- FRANCESCA WOODSTOCK, FRANCES LEATE, LUCY LAING

When I sat my three children down to tell them their daddy wasn't coming home and watched as their eyes filled with tears, I wondered how I would ever be happy again. Scarlett, then five, Levi, four, and Eloise, two, were all I had left of their father, the man I thought I would spend the rest of my life with. Nothing can prepare you to become a widow at 29, but somehow, I found the strength to carry on.

In August 2009, I walked down the aisle to marry Marcus. I was just 20, he was 22 and we had met at college two years earlier. Marcus was handsome, funny and I knew almost from the moment we met that we were destined to be together.

We had our whole future ahead of us, but just a month into our marriage, Marcus was diagnosed with a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, meaning the walls of his heart chambers were thicker than they should have been and it could restrict blood flow.

Ever positive, Marcus wasn't worried at all - he said it could be controlled with medication and he'd be given regular check-ups. Besides, Marcus took good care of himself, staying fit and healthy and getting up at 4 am every day to work out. Even when we became parents, it didn't stop his daily visits to the gym, and he never failed to be full of energy with the kids. With such a zest for life, he ran his own consultancy firm coaching people on success and positivity.

On 13 January 2019, Marcus set up 'Daddy's Day of Fun' for our three children. He was leaving for a business trip the following day, so he crammed in as many activities as possible - visiting a water park, trampoline park, and taking us out for pizza. On the way home, the kids were exhausted but couldn't stop talking about the amazing day they'd had.