Broadcaster Simon Barnett has opened up about the grief he has faced since the death of his beloved wife, Jodi Barnett, nearly two years ago.
Appearing on the Between Two Beers podcast, the 58-year-old described the emotional devastation of losing his wife after her five-and-a-half year battle with brain cancer.
“My daughters will hate me saying this, but I just wanted to die so bad,” he said. “I’d lie in bed two o’clock in the morning, couldn’t sleep, look at her picture and go, God, please just stop my heart. I just want to be with her so badly.
“I wake up every morning and look at Jo’s photo beside the bed, and our wedding photo, and I’m still in disbelief.”
Jodi Barnett died at their family home in Christchurch in October 2023. She was 61.
Diagnosed in 2018 after a sudden seizure, she underwent four brain surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
The couple were married for over three decades and raised four daughters.
Jodi was his “absolute confidant” and his “go-to” person, Barnett said, adding: “If I had Jodie and the kids, I was the happiest man on the planet.”
“If you are privileged enough to meet someone like I met – like Jodi – there is nothing in this world that could be better than that.
“I would give everything up to have Jodi back in a heartbeat. I could go to a campground in Nelson with her, with nothing, and I’d be happy for the rest of my life.”
Since Jodi’s death, Barnett has returned to his role at More FM — something he said had been “very good mentally”.
“We have social media at work, and I see people say, ‘Oh, it’s great to see he’s moved on, and great to see him laughing again’, which is all true, but I’m not sure I’ll ever entirely move on, because I don’t know if you can.”
He had been hesitant to speak publicly about his grief for fear of coming across as self indulgent but decided to do so in the hope it might help others.
“This is what I don’t like talking about myself, because I feel like people will listen to this or watch this and go, ‘gee, this guy’s just, woe is me and so into himself’ and that,” he told Between Two Beers.
“That’s the one thing I felt when you asked me to do this podcast, I’m like who would listen or watch it? Is there any interest? Then can I be of help? Because I want to be a help. That’s the significant thing. I think that I want to be of help, but I’m not quite sure how to help yet.”
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