‘We’ve got a lot of family issues right now’: Robbie Williams reveals his father Pete has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease as the pair are separated due to lockdown
Robbie Williams has revealed his father Pete has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The singer, 46, who is currently self-isolating in Los Angeles while his dad is in the UK, admitted he is fighting ‘fear and panic’ over his father’s diagnosis.
Speaking to The Mirror, the X Factor judge revealed his wife Ayda Field’s mother is also battling a ‘big illness’, after having Parkinson’s and lupus.
Speaking out: Robbie Williams, 46, has revealed his father Pete has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease
He said: ‘We’ve got a lot of family issues right now. My dad has got Parkinson’s, my mother-in-law who I love dearly has got a very big illness. We can’t get to them. My dad is thousands of miles away.’
Robbie added: ‘My mum is just a year short of 80 and she’s in isolation and I can see the things whirling in her mind and her eyes going.’
The hitmaker said that difficult times cause ‘fear and panic’ and said recent issues made him worry he could suffer from depression and drink and drug problems like in the past.
He said: ‘I noticed at the start of the lockdown that I was going into fear. But the difference between me now and the person I used to be… I saw it, thought “That’s interesting – tomorrow will be different”. And it was.’
Family: Robbie, who is currently self-isolating in Los Angeles, admitted he is fighting ‘fear and panic’ over his father’s diagnosis (pictured with his father and mother Janet)
Robbie added that in the past, he would think that negative emotions would last for ‘a decade’.
The former Take That star has been joined by his father Pete, who is also a singer, many times on stage.
A source close to Pete told the publication that he is in good health and has sung at all of Robbie’s recent shows, including one in January.
Robbie said: My dad has got Parkinson’s, my mother-in-law who I love dearly has got a very big illness. We can’t get to them. My dad is thousands of miles away’ (Pete pictured in 2017)
Touching: Robbie is self-isolating with his wife Ayda and their four children in Los Angeles (pictured with newborn son Beau)
Robbie and Ayda are self-isolating in LA with their children Theodora, seven, Charlton, five, Colette ‘Coco’, one, and three-month-old Beau.
Earlier this month, Robbie was emotionally reunited with Ayda and their children after 21 days apart.
The singer sweetly embraced daughter Theodora and Charlton in the video after running up the driveway to greet them, with Ayda sharing the heartwarming moment on Instagram.
Ayda revealed that Robbie was practising social distancing, after sharing a video of the hitmaker serenading her outside their mansion.
Ayda admitted it was the closest they had been for a while as she filmed Robbie, who had jumped up onto their porch.
Love: Earlier this month, Robbie was emotionally reunited with Ayda and their children after 21 days apart