A devastating day. X-FactorAlum Tom Mann confirmed that his fiancée, Dani Hampson, died on the day of their wedding.
“I can’t believe I am writing these words but my darling Dani – my best friend, my everything and more, the love of my life – passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning, 18th June,” the songwriter, 28, wrote via Instagram on Monday, June 20, alongside a photo of his late partner holding their son, Bowie. “What was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives ended in irreversible heartbreak. I feel like I have cried an ocean.”
Mann continued: “We never made it to the alter [sic]; or we got to say our vows or dance our first dance together, but I know you realize that you were my entire universe and the best thing that ever happened to me, Danielle. I will wear this ring that I was always supposed to wear as a sign of my unconditional love to you.”
Hampson, 34, was not suffering from any health problems and her cause of death has not been made public. Mann and the publicist had to postpone their September 2020 wedding because of the coronavirus pandemic. Bowie was welcomed in October 2021.
In his post, the former Stereo Kicks member wrote that while he was “completely broken” by the loss of Hampson, he was using “any strength I can muster” in order to be there for the infant. “I will not be a mark on the parent that you had already become but I promise I will do my everything to raise Bowie just the way we always wanted,” Mann wrote. “I promise you he will know how amazing his mummy was. I promise to make you so so proud.”
Describing Hampson as “the most beautiful person inside and out” and “the most incredible soul,” Mann concluded his post with a candid confession that he would be grieving “for a very, very long time.” He continued, “My darling Dani, the brightest light in any room, my world is nothing but darkness without you. I will miss you forever.”
Mann auditioned originally for the X-FactorIn 2013, before returning the next year. He was placed with four other contestants from the UK talent show into a boy group, and they finished fifth. Mann released his music as a solo artist after Stereo Kicks disbanded. He also worked as a producer and songwriter for artists such as Rita Ora Lewis Capaldi.
Hampson frequently shared her support for her fiancé’s career on social media. She also commemorated Bowie’s 6 month birthday in April with a clip of Mann singing to the baby. Elton John‘s songs “Cold Heart” and “Rocket Man.”
“Happy 6 months my darling boy,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “I played this song almost every day of my 3rd trimester, it was in my labour playlist & it was number 1 the day Bowie was born… determined for it to be ‘our song’ & for it always remind us of life’s good bits.”