Love dramas
Entrepreneur and top model Caprice Bourret talks exclusively to Closer about discovering she had a brain tumour and why she’s set on living life to its fullest
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The model was then told the earthshattering news that she had a meningioma, a type of tumour that develops in the tissue around the brain and spinal cord. Luckily it was benign, but Caprice had to undergo a seven-and-a-half-hour operation to remove it. She also needed reconstructive cranial plastic surgery to rebuild the skull above her forehead.
TIME FOR FAMILY
Now Caprice admits that after being given the allclear following the op, she’s determined to live every day as if it’s her last with her partner of six years Ty and their sons Jax and Jett, both three.
“After everything I’ve been through I feel like I’ve been given a second chance and I want to enjoy my life,” says Caprice. “I’m just grateful to be alive, so every single day is important.
“I’ve always been incredibly ambitious wanting more and more and constantly working harder and harder. But now I appreciate my health, something that I’ve always taken for granted. You also learn to appreciate life and be happy with what you’ve been blessed with. “This summer I’m going to Ibiza and I’m taking three months off to be with my family. We recently bought a house there and I want to enjoy time with my boys. That’s what’s important to me.”
STAYING STRONG
And Caprice admits she had to hold herself together for her children as she faced an uncertain future. The TV star reveals: “I didn’t cry in front of my boys – I had to be strong for them, especially as they’re so young. I told them that Mummy was going away for a few days and didn’t make it into a big deal when I left.
“I think young children are so perceptive; they can sense danger, they can sense sadness. I had to be a trooper when I left, but I think it really hit me properly when Ty dropped me off at the hospital. I prayed to my dad up in heaven. I just said: ‘Please Dad, I just want to wake up. I want to wake up a healthy person. I just want to be OK.’”
BACK TO NORMAL
Caprice tearfully opened up about the trauma on TV last week. She also showed the scar which stretches across the top of her head, from ear to ear, and is hidden by her hair.
Now she says the emotional roller coaster has brought her closer to businessman Ty.
She reveals: “Ty was so strong, he was
great, and he didn’t force the issue. He knew when I wanted to talk about it and he was always there for me. If I didn’t want to share my feelings then he was OK with that, too. He never pushed me, he was great and is my best friend in the world. He knows me so well.
“We’re definitely even stronger if that’s possible. We haven’t talked about marriage, we just want to get through this – one thing at a time. Anything is a possibility after you go through something like this. We’re getting back to normal now and I’m just really celebrating life at the moment. I’m super happy.”
Although the surgery was deemed a success and Caprice has been told that the brain tumour is unlikely to ever return, she will need to undergo regular checks for the next five years.
BEING THANKFUL
Choosing to remain positive, Caprice admits: “You can’t live thinking that the tumour will return. You just have to be thankful that the surgeons got it and if it comes back then I’ll deal with it again.”
And as The Jump star’s focus is firmly on her family, she says the “ship has sailed” when it comes to having more children.
“I’m just thankful that I have my two beautiful boys. I’m very grateful that they’re healthy and vibrant. We’re all good, we’re on the up.”