Jo Whiley's emotional reason why 'being 60 is more difficult than being 50' - but there's a hopeful lesson

Jo Whiley has admitted she’s in the midst of a “challenging decade”, and her reasons why could feel so relatable to so many.

The DJ was joined by musician Anastacia for a guest appearance on Dig It, the podcast she shares with Zoe Ball, and Jo opened up on finding being 60 “more difficult than being 50” because she’s at that age where more people close to her begin to fall ill or pass away.

She shared, “Honestly, I think this is a challenging decade. I think being 60 is more difficult than being 50 simply because people die and you have to look after people and there are lots and lots of challenges.”

She added, “Professionally, it's all great, but the thing about people dying is pretty rubbish. Maybe I've just had a bad year.”

Jo’s candid conversation comes after a particularly trying time - all of which she’s documented and talked about on the podcast. Jo, who is now 61, sadly lost her father, Martin Whiley, on July 21 at the age of 86 following a battle with Parkinson's disease.

Speaking about navigating her grief, Jo shared on a previous episode of the podcast how she prepared for the inevitable, and how her family were always the focus. She told Zoe, “With Frances [her sister], I’ve always dreaded her losing one of our parents and the children losing one of their grandparents.

“But it’s okay because you’ll have each other. It’s hideous and it’s painful and it’s sad, but we will get through these things and life carries on”.

Jo also opened up about finding her own release after losing her dad. Going back to work shortly after losing him, Jo shared that she initially felt “guilty” but the support shown to her really carried her through.

She shared, “It's quite a release to go and dance and sing… Life carries on, and you do have to carry on enjoying yourself."

Back to her recent episode with Anastacia, the Left Outside Alone singer tried to offer a hopeful message from the fact that ageing means the possibility of loss and illness.

Anastacia said, "The only thing I can say is once again, what you just said to yourself…Do it now. Live it now. Go hang with those friends you love.

"Go take extra time out for yourself because you know what? Just having it all be about work at our ages, you know, like we know it could happen tomorrow."