'This is for anyone going through grief': Debbie McGee reveals the advice she was given after her husband's death she's never forgotten

Debbie McGee was married to magician Paul Daniels for 28 years, until his death from a brain tumour in 2016.

The pair met in 1979 when former dancer Debbie joined one of Paul's shows as his assistant. The couple later married in Buckinghamshire, nine years after they first met.

Recently, Debbie has opened up about loss, and how her life looks in the years since her husband's death.

In conversation with Lorraine Kelly on her talk show, Debbie reveals a key piece of advice given to her by a grief counsellor when Paul died, that she's never forgotten.

"For anyone out there that's going through grief, a grief counsellor once said to me, 'We used to think that grief fades with age and time,'" Debbie begins.

Explaining further, she shares the counsellor told her "But now we believe your grief stays the same size as the day they died, you just have to build a bigger life around it."

As Lorraine praises the analogy, Debbie continues, "I totally believe that, because the more you do, you have less of your brain to think about recalling the time with them."

Debbie shares that she returned to work quickly after Paul's death, to continue "grabbing life by the scruff of the neck."

"You can choose your moments to recall them," she says of her strategy of keeping busy, and 10 years later, is celebrating the fact she has "kept going."

Speaking about Paul and whether or not she's ready to find love again, Debbie recently told The Mirror that she still has a lot of her husband's possessions.

"To be honest, I've still got loads, especially clothes. I sold quite a lot of tricks two or three years ago and I'm going to have another sale later this year," she says.

Debbie adds, "I've given odd bits to the family, but there's a wardrobe upstairs that's just crammed with costumes. That's one of the hardest things - to let go of their things feels like you're letting go of the person."

She reveals that she's had a couple of relationships, but hasn't found anything serious yet. "I've had a few boyfriends since Paul died, and they've been lovely, but they haven’t been serious," she says, adding, "So far love hasn't happened. So, you know, watch this space."

She still feels that Paul is around her, revealing that he "sends" feathers to remind her of him. "I feel Paul's presence everywhere. He's always with me," she says.

Debbie adds, "I see feathers everywhere and I look and say, ‘oh yeah, you're with me.’ I love the idea of the feathers and I would love to think it was true that they're letting you know they're thinking of you. It's a comfort."

When she spoke about how her conversation with the grief counsellor had shaped her life when appearing on Lorraine, the segment received a lot of comments when it was shared to Instagram

One person wrote, "Such a mind-blowing perspective, and so right."

Another shared their own devastating story, writing, "This is so true and helpful about grief our being the same size as the day our daughter lost her cancer battle. We're building a bigger life around it to remember her inspirational life, thank you Debbie."