CELEBRATING HIS 50TH BIRTHDAY WITH HIS BELOVED FAMILY IN SPAIN JONNIE IRWIN A SPECIAL HOLIDAY ONE YEAR ON FROM HIS DEVASTATING HEALTH DIAGNOSIS

Blowing out his 50th-birthday candles during a sunshine holiday with his wife and three adorable sons, Jonnie Irwin is counting his blessings as he celebrates a milestone he never expected to reach.

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN

Exactly a year after the TV presenter revealed that he had terminal lung cancer and had two years earlier been given six months to live, Jonnie defied the odds again to spend his birthday last Saturday on Spain’s Costa del Sol, where he has been swimming, playing football with his boys and enjoying meals out.

“I never thought I’d be here for this, so I’m chuffed to bits,” Jonnie tells HELLO! in this exclusive interview as he shares photos from his break with wife Jessica, 41, and sons Rex, four, and three-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac.

MAGIC MOMENTS 

“I feel privileged to celebrate my birthday looking at blue skies and with sand between my toes. I had an early birthday party at the start of the year because I didn’t think I’d make it. It was like being at my own wake; lots of fun, lots of dancing. But here I am. I view it as a complete triumph.”

The past year hasn’t been easy, but Jonnie is looking and feeling well and has put on weight since he revealed his diagnosis in the pages of HELLO!. Being well enough to celebrate his milestone in the sunshine with the people he loves has been the icing on the cake.

Speaking to us from Mijas, where the family have been staying at the Wyndham Grand resort, he says: “I have been spending all day with the kids, playing in the pool and in the hot tub, playing football. When I went to bed last night, I said: ‘I feel like a real dad today.’ This morning I couldn’t get out of bed, but I’m not sorry and I’ll do it again. I’ll rest when I absolutely need to but I’ll have fun until I drop.