Kaiser Chief’s Ricky cancels wedding to band’s ex stylist over lockdown rules

Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson was supposed to saying “I Do” to fiancee Grace Zito today – but instead the couple are settling for a fish lunch in Cornwall.

Ricky and stylist Grace had to postpone their wedding due to the lockdown rules limiting the number of guests to just 15 people.

But Ricky hopes that when the wedding does finally get to go ahead that his guests will be so desperate to party it will go on for days.

“I know a lot of people say a wedding is a marriage not a party and we should have gone ahead. But there were lots of factors – we weren’t allowed singing in the church which was a big thing, 15 people just isn’t enough, it is too hard to make a decision who could be there and who couldn’t.

“I mean I am in a band with five guys. Also Grace wanted McBusted for the reception and there are too many of them for the rule of six.

“Although we want to get married and spend the rest of our lives together, and I know it is not just about a big party, but at the end of the day you would like the freedom not have your brain reminded about the global pandemic when you are trying to celebrate the best day of your life. I think we will just have to wait.”

So instead Ricky, 42, and Grace, who he met five years ago when she styled the Kaiser Chiefs for a video, are heading out for a quiet meal.

He says: “We have managed to get into a restaurant that we have been trying to get into for years. It is in Cornwall and it is notorious difficult to get into and we have managed to get a table – it is nothing fancy.

“Even the date we have moved the wedding to is looking dodgy now. Grace does joke that I have planned this all along……”

“The weird thing is I am more excited about it now than ever, and I didn’t think I could get more excited. It would be great if there is a time when people are so desperate to have a good time that it goes on for days – I hope people say wherever it is and whenever it is we are coming and going to dance until our feet bleed.”

But Ricky is all too aware that having to postpone his wedding due to the coronavirus pandemic is a small price to pay compared to the sacrifices others are having to make at the moment.

Ricky has supported the Teenage Cancer Trust for 15 years after the Kaiser Chiefs played a fundraising gig for the charity at the Royal Albert Hall.

Since then he has met dozens of young people going through treatment for cancer, and he says that while all kids are suffering as a result of the pandemic, none more so than those going through cancer treatment.

He explains: “It has been tough for everyone but for young people with cancer they are particularly at risk from it, they are facing great uncertainty, and let’s face it one of the most important things is community and they are facing isolation, so the charity work supporting them is needed more than ever.”

Like many charities, the Teenage Cancer Trust lost a vast amount of its income when COVID-19 hit, and is set to lose more than £5million in funding this year.

But the charity is determined to continue its work supporting teenagers going through cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Ricky says: “If you are a teenager you get treated like either a kid or an adult and neither of those wards you want to be put in, you are in kind of limbo, which you are anyway as a teen.

“Before Teenage Cancer Trust, young people diagnosed with cancer were more likely to be treated alongside people either much older or younger than themselves and this could make their experience even more frightening and lonely. That’s why the charity funds 28 specialist units around the country to bring teens and young adults together to face the challenges of cancer and be treated by teenage cancer experts in a place designed just for them.”

Teenagers like Cerys Davies who Ricky met via a zoom call to talk about how the charity has supported her since she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer last year, aged just 13.

Cerys was treated on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit’s at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where she was supported by Youth Support Coordinator, Julie, who helped her to meet other young people going through treatment and deal with the emotional impact of her treatment.

Cerys says: “When I found out it was cancer I called my best friend and we both cried on the phone. Then I said to my dad; ‘I will beat this anyway’.

“As Osteosarcoma can spread quickly, I had to have an MRI scan, CT scans, bones scans, X-Rays and lung scans. If it spreads to the lungs, it’s palliative care only. Luckily, mine had not spread.

“I had a 20cm tumour going from the middle of my shinbone to the top of my knee. The consultant told me that they could save the leg or amputate it, but that amputation was the safest option. As soon as I got into the car with my dad, I said that I wanted the amputation. There was no way I was risking it.

“It was life’s decision to give me cancer. I just have to show cancer that I don’t care and that I can get past it.”

Although Cerys’s cancer treatment is now over, her Youth Support Coordinator Julie has continued to support her online to help her cope through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cerys says: “We’ve been doing a lot of Zoom calls which is really good as I make lots of friends. When you’re in the hospital you don’t see each other as often but on Zoom calls you can see each other more.

“I was really anxious about going back to school and she spoke to me about that. Julie advised me to ask my headteacher about going in the day before school starts to see what it’s like. It was really hard getting used to it but I’m getting used to it now.”

Cerys features in the BBC’S Lifeline Appeal, fronted by Ricky, to raise awareness of the work done by the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Ricky says he knows times are hard for people at the minute, but he believes that as humans we are naturally programmed to help the most vulnerable in society – something that the great community spirit shown during the pandemic has highlighted.

He says: “We are all worried about lots of things and there is no shame about thinking about yourself and your family before you start helping other people. I am not saying it is a responsibility to help other people, it is a personal choice. But it is hard not to be emotionally hit hard by the stories you hear from Teenage Cancer Trust. We do still need to help the most vulnerable people in society and that is what makes us human.

“We are an incredible species and as a community we can get a lot done. We have been amazing during the pandemic, and people have made sacrifices for other people.

“Every now and again people do need a nudge to remind them about something they might not have thought about in a while. Things do float in and out of your mind, but this is something that is close to my heart and never really leaves it so I would like it to be in other people’s minds too.”

MUST KEEP Visit www.teenagecancertrust.org/lifeline for details on how to watch and support Teenage Cancer Trust’s BBC Lifeline Appeal. Aldi UK is match funding every £1 raised by the appeal up to the value of £20,000.

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