Simon Thomas says he feels ‘blessed’ as he prepares to welcome second child with his wife

Simon Thomas said he feels ‘blessed’ as he prepares to welcome his second child with his wife Derrina.

Simon, 51, married Derrina in 2021, following the death of his first wife, Gemma, to blood cancer. Gemma and Simon share son Ethan, 12.

Simon and Derrina share daughter Talitha, 15-months, – and she is due to give birth to their second child together in a ‘few weeks’.

In a new interview he has told how he feels ‘really fortunate having the life I do’ despite losing his first wife. 

He told The Mirror: ‘The baby is due in a few weeks’ time, so quite close to the end of the ­football season.

‘It’s been a massive joy to see Ethan having Talitha in the house, and in a few weeks’ time another brother or sister, so it’s been lovely. Obviously there’s an age gap but they’ve got a lovely bond.

‘The way her face lights up when he comes home from school. She can say ‘bye bye’ now and she loves watching him play his guitar. So it’s been a real source of joy.

‘Sometimes it sounds weird to say I’m blessed, because of what happened, but I am really fortunate having the life I do have, and be in regular work again.’

Simon announced he was expecting his second child with his wife Derrina back in January.

The TV personality, who formerly presented Sky Sports and Blue Peter, shared the sweet update to mark his birthday.

Uploading a photo of this son Ethan and daughter Talitha with an ultrasound scan, he revealed ‘a little baby brother or sister’ was on the way. 

Simon captioned the post explaining what he was grateful for his life and added: ‘Today is another milestone in life’s rich journey as another birthday arrived.

‘Do I wish I was ten years younger? Of course I do. But am I grateful for another to have got this far, to be given the gift of another year of life? Massively.’

He continued: These are just a few of the many things I’m grateful for today… Having a loving, caring and beautiful wife and a wonderful son and daughter. 

‘Having the chance to love again and be loved again after everything that has happened in my life is an incredible blessing.

‘Being a blended family isn’t always easy at times; and we’ve had to come through lots of challenges along the way; but I am so glad that we’ve always held onto each other, whatever season we’re in.

‘And lastly I’m excited and thankful that in about three months time (just in time for the climax of the football season) a little baby brother or sister for Ethan & Talitha will be entering the world.

‘All we hope and pray right now is that they are healthy and that unlike Talitha; their entrance to this world is a little less dramatic and not quite as early!

‘And finally, and most importantly, I’m grateful to God who is always faithful in whatever season of life I’m in.

‘(And for those for whom the whole area of having children can be triggering, I hope this hasn’t been hard to read. As someone who went through the pain of fertility problems many years ago, I know something of how incredibly tough it is.)’

In April 2023, Simon opened up about the traumatic experience of losing his first wife to cancer in 2017 and has revealed how God ‘brought love’ back into his life with Derrina.

He detailed the pain of his grief in an emotionally-charged interview, after his wife, Gemma, passed away within four days of receiving an acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis. 

Gemma’s death in 2017 at 40 resulted in what Thomas describes as a ‘life earthquake’, and as a result of her passing he took time off to look after his eight-year-old son, essentially tearing up his contract at Sky. 

The presenter recounted the rapid progression of his wife’s illness, and the profound impact that it had on his life – including his battle with his own faith. 

‘We went from Monday night with her being diagnosed with a blood cancer of some sort. For a couple of days, things were looking OK the treatment was going well but then things just cartwheeled out of control.’

He continued: ‘On the Friday she falls unconscious and by 8.30 on Friday morning I’m being told by a consultant “she’s not going to see out the day”.

‘The very foundations on which your life has been built are trembling, there’s a massive life earthquake going on. And by 5.45pm on that Friday in November 2017 at the age of 40, with an 8-year-old son and a husband, she’s gone. 

‘The first thing I did when I came out of that hospital was I just sank to my knees and shouted at God “Why? Why, why, why? Why’ve you left my boy without a mum, I don’t get it, I don’t get you God!”‘.

He has since re-built his career, now commonly seen presenting on channels such as Amazon Prime Video.