Boyband The Wanted made headlines recently after getting back together following a seven year hiatus.
The band reunited for a special charity gig last month in aid of Stand Up To Cancer, following band member Tom Parker's brain cancer diagnosis in August 2020.
In October last year Tom announced that he had been diagnosed with an inoperable grade 4 glioblastoma.
Read more: Mum with stage 4 cancer refused lifeline treatment as family slam heartbreaking NHS postcode lottery
He had suffered a seizure in July and was put on the waiting list for an MRI, but sought immediate medical help after suffering yet another seizure - leading to a brain cancer diagnosis.
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The singer has impressed fans with his resilience following the diagnosis and his commitment to getting better for his young family, who he lives with in Petts Wood.
KentLive takes a look back at Tom Parker's career with The Wanted, his sweet love story with wife Kelsey and their two small children, and his battle with cancer.
Life before The Wanted
Tom Parker was born in Bolton on August 4 1988, where he attended He attended St Brendan's Primary School.
He first discovered his passion for music at the age of sixteen when he tried out his older brother's guitar.
He auditioned for The X Factor in 2007 but unfortunately didn't make it past the first round.
Despite being a bit of a rebel at school, Tom was offered an unconditional offer to study geography at Manchester Metropolitan University, however he dropped out after realising he wanted to pursue a career in music.
In an attempt to kickstart his singing career, he joined a Take That tribute band called Take That II, touring Northern England in the role of Mark Owen.
However, his breakthrough came when he successfully auditioned for one of the spots in a new group called The Wanted at the age of 21 in 2009.
Rise to fame
After successfully landing a place in a brand new boyband, Tom Parker was introduced to the men who would become his bandmates: Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes.
The group were signed to Universal Music subsidiaries Island Records and Mercury Records.
Their first single All Time Low debuted at number one and their debut self-titled album peaked at number four on the UK charts.
Their follow-up album Battleground was released in 2011 and hit number five in the UK charts.
But it wasn't until early 2012 that the band really started to reap the rewards of their hard work when their hit single Glad You Came became the their second UK number one and peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, becoming the highest American chart entry by a British boyband.
They'd reached such a level of popularity by 2013 that they were headhunted by Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber's manager, and starred in their own reality series on E! called The Wanted Life.
Unfortunately the band started to lose popularity gradually in 2014 as their fans started to grow up and new boybands came on the scene, so they made the decision to go on a hiatus and pursue solo careers.
According to CelebrityNetWorth, Tom Parker is worth approximately $8 million thanks to his stint in The Wanted - the equivalent to nearly £6 million.
Solo career
The end of The Wanted certainly didn't mark the end of Tom's career.
He embraced the change and decided to pursue a career as a DJ, collaborating with Richard Rawson on a track called Fireflies.
His newfound freedom also brought with it opportunities to take part in reality TV shows, including Celebrity Masterchef and Channel 4's The Jump.
In 2017 Tom tried his hand at musical theatre, being cast as Danny Zuko in the UK tour of Grease.
Who is Tom married to and does he have children?
But life post-The Wanted also brought with it the joy of marriage of a new family.
Tom and wife Kelsey have been married two years having tied the knot back in 2018.
However, the couple have known each other since 2009 when they first met at a nightclub during the band's beginnings.
The couple exchanged vows during a ceremony in Surrey two years ago.
Talking to OK Magazine about their relationship Kelsey said: "It was literally love at first sight.
"I saw him outside a nightclub in London, and I grabbed my friend and said: 'Oh my god, I love him."
She continued: "He's the love of my life. The boys always say we're the boy and girl version of each other, which is why it works."
Tom added: "It was instant. I knew as soon as I saw her that I saw her as the mother of my children."
Kelsey gave birth to the couple's daughter Aurelia in 2019, and they recently had a son Bodhi.
The couple live in Petts Wood with their young family, where dance teacher Kelsey runs a performing arts school.
Speaking to Vibe when he moved to the area, Tom said: “I feel like this is my introduction to the community.
“Everyone is really nice. Everyone is really calm and friendly. It’s like the calm away from the storm.”
The couple have settled in well and enjoy the local cuisine, naming their favourite restaurants as Petts Wood Kebab, Rajdoot and Rib Shack.
Brain cancer diagnosis
After announcing his brain cancer diagnosis last year, Tom has been quite open on social media about his treatment and the emotional turmoil it's brought with it.
The 33-year-old star has undergone 30 rounds of radiotherapy since his diagnosis and revealed on Instagram in January this year that his tumour had been "significantly reduced".
Despite his terminal cancer diagnosis, Tom said he was feeling "very positive" in a recent interview with This Morning.
He said: “It’s been pretty full on. Chemo was very, very tough and radiotherapy is probably the hardest part.”
“I feel a lot more confident and a lot more in control of my emotions.
“If I did do this five months ago, I’d be a crying mess to be honest. I’m feeling very positive.”
On 20 September 2021, Tom reunited with his The Wanted bandmates to hold a charity concert at The Royal Albert Hall in aid of Stand Up to Cancer.
The event was called 'Inside My Head', and featured artists such as Becky Hill, McFly, and Liam Payne.
He has also won praise for his recent Channel 4 documentary Inside My Head, which followed his journey after receiving his cancer diagnosis.
He revealed the challenges he's faced over the past year, including a change in how people have treated him.
He said: "I spent three months of last year just laying in that bed.
"There was just so much to contend with. You're not just dealing with cancer, you're dealing with how other people can treat you.
"There's so much running through my mind. I don't want people to treat me differently because I've got something."
What does the future look like?
Despite Tom's tragic diagnosis, the future is looking pretty bright for the Kent star.
His wife Kelsey revealed that the pair would like to have more children in addition to their two-year-old and 11-month-old.
Speaking to The Sun she said: "I’ve always wanted four children so I think we’ll try again in a year or two.
"The kids have been a saving grace for us during this time.
"They are our reason to get up and face every day."
The singer has also announced that The Wanted's reunion was more than just a one-off and they will be releasing more music in the near future, so there's lots more to come from Tom.
