By Katie Daly

Copyright hellomagazine

Gary Barlow keeps his family life private, but in a new interview, he has been more candid than ever about one of the toughest times of his life, a time his wife Dawn Andrews would rather he keep private. Speaking to the Times in a joint interview with his Take That bandmates, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, lead singer Gary opened up about the period of time around his daughter, Poppy, being delivered stillborn in August 2012. “I do believe we’re in a world where we overshare… I don’t want to be the poster boy for loss, but it’s really hard because sometimes you read something and go, ‘Jesus, what I said helped this person…'” Gary recalled.

“It’s hard to find a balance. My wife’s really private. She doesn’t want me to talk about any of it, and so it’s just very hard,” he added. “But also I’ve always got to ask myself, with anything we do, ‘Why am I here today?’ I am here because I write songs and sing — and that should be enough. And so anything else that’s extra to that? I just need to think about it because I’m not a psychiatrist.”

Gary’s personal struggle

Reflecting on the period, Gary also opened up about facing his work head-on amid his grief. Having organised Poppy’s funeral, just eight days after her passing, the star of the upcoming Circus Live Tour performed at the London 2012 Olympic closing ceremony.

“I mean, we’re singing — it’s not that hard. I could be doing a proper job. That’s what I always think,” Gary said, while Donald added, “I thought he was never going to do it, you know? But he is a professional; he got up and sang ‘Rule the World’. I was thinking, [expletive] hell, Gaz.”

“You’ve just got to turn it on for a few minutes, haven’t you?” Gary said. “But you know, welcome to showbusiness…Definitely some nights you stand side of stage thinking, oh, I could be at home tonight, but you go out there and it’s the most wonderful two hours.”

Gary’s children

Gary and Dawn, whom the ‘Patience’ singer met in 1988 during a music video shoot and who later became Take That’s back-up dancer, share three children, Daniel, 25, Emily, 23, and Daisy, 16. It is Dawn whom Gary credits for raising their broods. “She’s really special, really special. She’s a no-nonsense mum. She brought our kids up, I didn’t,” he said previously.

“I do this job which is bloody all-encompassing, I travel all around the world, she gave up her job to bring our kids up. Left her dreams to one side and I got to do mine still. She’s done a brilliant job, everyone who meets our kids always says how great they are.”