24 April 2024 , 14:56
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Natalie Cassidy has shared a tear-jerking statement on Instagram as she remembers her father, who died three years ago.
Telling her followers Charles passed away three years ago today, she explained she was crying because she 'missed him so much', but felt "proud" because she was starting to "move on" with her life. Sharing an adorable photo of herself as a little girl with her proud dad next to her, Natalie, 40, penned: "I lost my daddy 3 years ago today. It’s just another day, but everything seems heightened somehow."
The mum-of-two continued: "I’m feeling very proud of myself and very happy and cry tears because I miss him so much not because I’m sad. And grief doesn’t start and stop on tap. It’s always with you but you learn to smile through it, even laugh and move on with your life. You’d be proud dad."
EastEnders star, Natalie Cassidy, who has played Sonia Fowler on the BBC soap for decades, has paid tribute to her dad, Charles
She shared this adorable childhood photoHer poignant post was warmly received by fans, with many telling Natalie they too had lost a parent and took comfort in knowing they weren't alone.
Last year, the Sonia Fowler star heartbreakingly revealed she still "talks to" her dad every day and keeps his ashes on her windowsill, two years after his death.
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Charles died in April 2021, but the actress said that she makes sure his memory stays alive. Natalie's mum died when she was just 19 and so her bond with her dad was strengthened even more, which culminated in Charles living with the actress and her family in the last years of his life.
Natalie has now converted her dad's room into a special space for the family to enjoy time together as well as placing his ashes on the windowsill in her living room where she likes to chat with him. Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: "I know it might be a bit morbid for some people but he sits on the windowsill and I like to have a chat with him."
Natalie, her fiancé, Marc Humphreys, and her two daughters, Eliza and Joanie, moved into their current house fives years ago when Charles went with them. Speaking about living with her dad, she said: "My dad was with us because his health started to deteriorate and I didn’t want him to be living on his own any more. I decided to bite the bullet and find somewhere with an annexe, so that Dad was still with us, but could also be independent and have his own space."
Charles suffered with multiple medical issues before he passed away and Natalie said she knew when the end was close. The soap star revealed she had a "gut feeling" that he would pass away soon and within a week he had died with his beloved daughter by his side.