NEED TO KNOW
Michael Mosley’s wife, Clare Bailey Mosley, is reflecting on one year since his disappearance and death at age 67.
In a new interview with The Times, published on Saturday, Sept. 6, Clare opened up on her grieving process in the year since her TV doctor husband’s body was found on the Greek island of Symi in June 2024, days after he was reported missing amid a family vacation.
“I don’t think one can make sense of it. The shock is so profound, I don’t know how to,” Clare told the outlet, adding that she doesn’t know if she’s still in shock from the incident.
Clare shared that she and her children — Alex, 35, Jack, 33, Dan, 31, and Kate, 26 — returned to Greece, one year after her husband’s death, though the family decided not to stay on Symi.
“We all felt that was just going to be too much, because we had climbed and searched and scratched our way through so much of the strange parts of the island, so it was very, very fraught,” she said. “But we did go back on the day, to the lovely, beautiful monastery at the far end of Symi. I’ve not grown up religious at all, but I find it comforting to sit on a pew.”
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Michael — best known for appearing in BBC shows including Trust Me, I’m a Doctor and ITV’s This Morning — was first reported missing on June 5, 2024, after he did not return from a hike.
After four days of search parties and police scouring the island, Michael’s body was spotted by the mayor of Symi. Officials said he slipped and fell on a rocky path, and died of suspected heatstroke, per The Times.
The TV presenter’s wife told the outlet she considered it a blessing that his death was an accident, and that there was no one to blame.
“It was so random. There was nothing to be angry about. And how lucky is that? Isn’t that incredible?” she told The Times. “If somebody was to blame, it would have been very different.”
“Some people I’ve said it to were surprised. But it’s the difference between night and day,” she continued. “The worst has happened, but there are so many permutations in which it could have been so much worse. He could not have been found. Or one of the boys could have found him, and that would have been devastating.”
Soon after Michael’s body was discovered in 2024, Clare told PEOPLE: “It’s devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband. We had an incredibly lucky life together. We loved each other very much and were so happy together.”
Noting that she was “incredibly proud” of the pair’s children for “their resilience and support over the past days,” Clare added, “My family and I have been hugely comforted by the outpouring of love from people from around the world. It’s clear that Michael meant a huge amount to so many of you.”
In her statement to PEOPLE, Clare also said that she and her loved ones are currently “taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it.”
“He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team,” she continued.
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In the wake of her husband’s death, Clare is now working to establish a foundation in her husband’s name — the Michael Mosley Memorial Research Fund, which will establish a new clinical research fellowship at King’s College London for work to improve metabolic health — and is still navigating her own grieving process.
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“I decided it felt too early [to see a counselor],” she told The Times. “I’m going to trundle along until I have something I need to talk about and get some handle on. So I am planning to get some support.”
She said she grapples with the phrase “processing grief.”
“It is a strange thing. I don’t know if I’ve got a hard heart,” Clare said. “We’re still standing. It is what it is, and that’s what you just have to work with, and you just get on with it.”
