GEORGE Shelley has made a career out of singing for over a decade but that flashed before his eyes when routine surgery went horribly wrong earlier this year.
The former Union J and I’m A Celeb star has revealed a major artery was severed while he was having his tonsils removed over the summer, leaving him in hospital for a week.
Opening up about the ordeal for the first time, George told us: “It’s been a really tough year to be honest. I had my tonsils out and my artery was cut in two and I was in hospital for a week.
“I lost a lot of blood and during that I was bereaved, my bandmate’s fiance Olly, and dealing with grief again.”
Olly Marmon died in August after falling from a hotel window and it was devastating for both George and his pal, Olly’s fiance Jaymi Hensley.
He said: “I’m so proud of him. He’s kept working. He’s creating happiness for himself by performing and that’s what Olly loved with Jaymi. He was a really great rock for me during my grief and I want to be that for him.”
George was devastated in 2017 when his sister Harriet was hit by a car and died and he is now an ambassador for Grief Encounter, which helps young people who have lost loved ones.
Reflecting on how he feels now, he explained: “I’m the best I’ve ever felt in my life. It’s taken a long time to heal from a lot of trauma over the last six to ten years.
“I went on a trek and did some charity fundraising for Grief Encounter which was amazing.
“Being out in nature got me out of London and out of my head and I had a lot of epiphanies about what I want to do with my life and that is that I don’t want to spend another day doing things that don’t make me happy.”
Speaking on the red carpet at the Devil Wears Prada charity gala on Sunday, he added: “Music is my main passion. The industry is very toxic and I don’t want to be hurt by it again like I was before.
“But I have been writing a lot of songs. I went through my notebook the other day and I’ve written over 300 songs in the last six years. So I’m going to do something with the music next year.”
