Ulrika Jonsson admits she's 'distraught and bereft' after family death

Ulrika Jonsson
(Image credit: Alamy)

Ulrika Jonsson is mourning the loss of her beloved bulldog Nessie, 10.

Ulrika Jonsson is struggling with the loss of her beloved bulldog Nessie after she revealed she had died following a short health battle.

The TV presenter took to Instagram last week to reveal that her pet pooch had spent two days at the vets after suffering kidney failure. She uploaded a snap of Nessie and told fans it wasn't good news for her furry friend.

It comes after Harry Redknapp shared his own heartbreaking family loss with the death of his pet dog Lulu before Christmas.

She captioned it, "Ma grande dame. My first born fur baby. Has spent 48hrs at our lovely vet’s. She’s not going to win this battle. I’ve been beyond distraught and bereft. We will keep her at home as long as we can. My girl."

And just a few days later, she updated her 128k followers to tell them, "She's gone" as she shared a heartbreaking selfie with Nessie.

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A photo posted by on

Ulrika, 53, who has surviving pooch Leo, had been inundated with messages of support but was quick to point out her own vulnerabilities, when she uploaded a selfie and captioned it, "Difficult times. For everyone. Not feeling it for all sorts of reasons. All those arses out there who say “stay strong” foolishly make the assumption you were strong from the start. Some of us are not. Don’t feel the need to stay strong. Just stay. #love"

The mum of four, to Cameron, 26, Bo, 20, Martha, 16, and Malcolm, 12, took Leo to lay flowers at Nessie's grave which was next to her other late bulldog Dexter. Ulrika then posted a video of an agitated Leo at home who she said "didn't quite know where to put himself" after losing his sister, and she admitted she doesn't know 'either'.

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A photo posted by on

Later in the day, Ulrika shared a heartbreaking selfie of her shoulder and the bottom half of her face.

She wrote, "All I can smell is #grief."

Ulrika's beloved pets have been helping her through her depression. She previously revealed, "I couldn’t live without them. I centre my life around the children and the dogs. They’ve been very good for my depression because they’re such excellent company (now I really do sound mad…). But going for daily walks helps me tremendously. Not only does it get me out of the house but you invariably meet other dog owners who are – as a general rule – very nice."

Selina Maycock
Senior Family Writer

Selina is a Senior Family Writer for GoodtoKnow and has more than 16 years years of experience. She specialises in royal family news, including the latest activities of Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet. She also covers the latest government, health and charity advice for families. Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism, and gained her NCTJ and NCE qualifications. During her career, she’s also written for Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, and Woman's Weekly as well as Heat magazine, Bang Showbiz - and the Scunthorpe Telegraph. When she's not covering family news, you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories (including award-winning scarecrows!)