Harry Connick Jr. and his wife Jill have had a long-lived marriage. The two were introduced by a mutual friend in 1990, and the Grammy award winning singer and former Victoria Secret model fell deeply in love. Now this month, Harry and Jill have decided to speak out about their battle with cancer. Specifically, Jill was diagnosed 5 years ago with breast cancer after abnormalities were found during a routine breast screening.
Jill recounted the day she was screened. She first received a mammogram. “They said, ‘Okay, looks good. Since you have dense breasts, just go across the hall for your sonogram,’ ” JIll told People magazine. The sonogram revealed an abnormality. After received a biopsy, Jill was diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma, and underwent an immediate lumpectomy. All of this was then followed by radiation treatment.
The star singer and television show host and his spouse spoke together about what the memories of those initial, tough days were like, on his show. They spoke about how she is doing and why they have gone public with their story.
Harry was especially affected by his wife’s illness because his mother died of ovarian cancer when he was a teenager. “I was scared I was going to lose her, absolutely. I wasn’t going to let her see that, but I was. I know from losing my mom that the worst can happen. She’s my best friend, and I really don’t know what I would do without her.”
The couple have been married for 23 years and have three beautiful daughters, Georgie, Sara Kate and Charlotte.
“I think it’s different for everybody but I love my wife and I know she loves me,” Harry said. “We’re best friends. We’re just lucky to have found each other. It takes a lot of work but I just feel very blessed that I found the right person. It’s a very fortunate situation and not everyone has that.”
Thankfully, Jill is now healthy and in her fifth year of remission. The couple has been doing as much work to spread awareness of early diagnosis and support as they can.
