Tom Zanetti opens up about becoming a dad at 17 and tragic death of girlfriend
DJ Tom Zanetti bared his soul in a new podcast as he discussed his son, the tragic death of his girlfriend, overcoming homelessness and bankruptcy and his battle with depression
Tom Zanetti has poured his heart out about how becoming a dad at the age of 17 made his life so much better.
The platinum-selling DJ also detailed how he was affected by the tragic death of his girlfriend in a car accident.
Tom was kicked out of school at age 15 and admits he found it hard to "follow the rules".
He was 16 when he found out the girl he was seeing was pregnant, and in a frank new interview, he said having his son Deaconn stopped him from getting into trouble.
"I grew on a council estate with my mum, and my brother and sister," he told singer Jsky on the latest episode of his podcast series Jsky Chat - The Podcast.
"My mum and dad split up when I was young. We didn't have anything really.
"When I was 15 I got kicked out of school. I wasn't really bad or disrespectful, I just kind of didn't follow the rules and I used to get into fights."
"I feel like sometimes with creative people, we find it hard to follow the rules. I wasn't stupid, I just had a bit of a behavioural problem," MEN reports he said.
Tom, who is best known for the song You Want Me and made a guest appearance on Love Island in 2018, says that from the moment he found out he was going to become a dad, he did everything he could to earn money for his son.
"I used to do things on the side to make money," he explained.
"Before I found out my son was coming I was in and out of trouble quite often. I used to do things I shouldn't really have been doing to make money.
"As soon as I found out Deaconn was going to be born I stopped it all and I literally worked every job.
"I used to work in a factory from 6 o'clock in the morning until 6 o'clock at night fixing pallets.
"I've worked as a butcher putting the pork in pies on a conveyor belt, a bricklayer, I've worked in call centres.
"I did anything I could to try and earn money legitimately to fund my son."
He added: "I remember when I was 17 I was on my bed at home. All my pals were out and I was waking up five times a night feeding my son on the end of my bed, rocking him to sleep. I used to love it. I love my son to pieces."
Tom recently shared photos of himself and his son together on Instagram and spoke of their "unbreakable bond".
"Since I laid eyes on you when I was just 17, we had an unbreakable bond. My boy is growing fast," he proudly penned.
Tom, 31, also talked to Jsky about beating homelessness, bankruptcy, depression and the tragic death of his girlfriend Lizzie Pickavance, who was returning from work in Manchester in 2010 when she lost control of her car on the M62 near Gildersome, Leeds in 2010.
He said: "When my son was about 18 months old I met a girl called Lizzie. Lizzie was with me for a few years until I was about 21. She really was a part of the family.
"Lizzie passed away when I was 21. She fell asleep at the wheel. It was really hard.
"When Lizzie died I was finished. I didn't want to be here but I had my son with me. I never cried in front of my son. I was always upbeat in from of Deaconn. If he left the room then I'd be really upset."
He added: "Going through that was something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies but it kind of showed me that onwards and upwards is the only way."
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