Tom Parker, one of the five members of the early-2010s boy band The Wanted, has revealed he’s been diagnosed with a brain tumor and that he’s been undergoing treatment. In an emotional Instagram post on Monday (October 12), the British singer wrote that instead of battling privately or trying to keep his diagnosis a secret, he decided to “lay out all the details and let everyone know the facts in our own way.”
He also gave an accompanying interview to OK! magazine where he revealed he has an inoperable “grade four glioblastoma tumor,” diagnosed after he began experiencing seizures.
“We are all absolutely devastated but we are gonna fight this all the way,” he wrote on Instagram in a note co-signed by his wife, Kelsey Hardwick. “We don’t want your sadness, we just want love and positivity and together we will raise awareness of this terrible disease and look for all available treatment options.”
Parker, 32, began a career with The Wanted in 2009, alongside fellow members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, and Nathan Sykes. Over the next five years, they scored three top-10 albums in the U.K. and are perhaps best known globally for their infectious 2011 electronic dance-pop hit “Glad You Came,” which hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group went on indefinite hiatus in 2014.
Parker and Hardwick share a daughter, Aurelia, and are currently expecting their second child, a boy. They ended their note with a message of resilience and hope: “It’s gonna be a tough battle but with everyone’s love and support we are going to beat this.”
