‘I thought I was losing my soulmate, I felt so useless... there’s nothing you can do’

he would not ask me at Christmas, because he thinks that’s a bit cliche’.

“My plan was to pop the question the following Christmas but then she got the diagnosis but I still went ahead.

“It got to the point where the kids were bringing me over to shops that were next door to jewellers’ shops.

“I proposed to Jenny in our front room on Christmas Eve, when the kids were off to bed, as midnight comes around and the first few minutes of Christmas Day emerge, we exchange our presents then and so I did it then.”

Martin admits it was debilitating at the time feeling “useless” not being able to fix the love of his life.

The Virgin Media One star said: “In those situations there’s nothing you can do, you’re putting all your faith into somebody else’s hands.

“You feel useless, you can only be as supportive as you can be because you can’t fix this.

“Jenny stepped outside herself and tried to make everyone around it OK.”

Thinking he could lose her was always on his mind. He added: “The way we’re built as Irish people we don’t focus on the positive, we lean towards the negative, we must be humble.

POSITIVE

“We should think positively rather than negatively, it’s about finding the right mindset to approach these situations in the best way. Jenny’s mindset is always positive.”

The Six O’clock show host admits he is still dealing with losing his mother and father in close succession.

He said: “I was on with Ray D’arcy for the soundtrack of my life and we had a good chat and my parents came up again. They’re not even gone a year, things are still raw, things will still pop up every now and again.

“I watched my own kids dealing with the loss of their grandparents, within a month of each other, it’s tough for them too.

“We tell them if you’re feeling down or sad, just tell us and if you feel like crying just cry, just let it out.”

Meanwhile, after five years in the making, Jenny’s candle has hit the shelves.

She said: “I’m a candle freak and anyone who’s been in my studio will notice this. Over the years photographing weddings, I always noticed there was something missing from the wedding market, a classic candle.

“The scent is lime, basil and manderin, a lovely calming smell, it lingers but not in a bad way and calms you down.”

She added: “Martin is the biggest romantic I’ve ever met and he’s sick and tired of me going on about the candle.

“Martin is my soul mate. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

news@irishmirror.ie