‘We had no time to adjust’ says Karen Koster as she opens up on mum’s death

AN EMOTIONAL Karen Koster has said “we had no time to adjust” as she opened up on the sudden passing of her mum.

The Virgin Media host sadly lost her mum Brenda due to a heart attack back in 2022, plunging her family into a state of grief.

Karen has now spoken out about her struggle with grief and how her mum’s death affected her decision to step down from hosting the Six O’Clock Show.

In a recent column with the Irish Independent, the Dublin star told how her mum “wasn’t sick” and how her death left their family with “no time to adjust”.

On the day she died, the Irish host explained that she had been with her mum “talking about her daughters birthday party” and added that “by the afternoon” she had passed away.

When it comes to dealing with grief Karen admitted: “My brain is still struggling to comprehend that she’s not here anymore. She was the best.

“I find I’ll get more upset talking to strangers rather than to friends or family. When I was ordering flowers for her anniversary, I was like how am I ordering flowers for my mum’s grave?

“It’s then that I started blubbing in the florist.”

Back in November, the mum-of-three announced that she would be quitting the Six O’Clock Show after two years on air.

In a statement released to her Instagram at the time, she wrote: “I’m finishing up on The Six O’Clock Show next week for the simple reason that I just need to be home more with my family in the evenings.”

In her column, Karen described how her work routine was clashing with her family life as she said: “When my kids finished school, I was starting work – I was coming home and putting them to bed.”

The 43-year-old admitted that when her mum passed away she “looked at everything” and asked herself “if something happened to me now, would I be OK with the choice I’ve made?”

She said: “I realised, no was the answer, so I stepped back then.”

The TV star joked: “I’m there in a freelance capacity and it’s worked out great. It was like a break-up but the boy is still calling you back.”

However, when it came to setting aside more time to spend with her kids, Karen confessed that quitting the show has “actually made more time for her and John”.

Family time

The popular presenter and businessman hubby John Mcguire have been together since 2007.

The happy pair tied the knot in 2013 in a breathtaking ceremony in Sicily.

Since stepping down from her hosting duties, Karen added: “I thought it’ll be great because I’ll be home more for the kids.

“What’s happening is, because I’m home more in the afternoons, me and John are sneaking off and getting a babysitter in and going to an early movie or for an early bird dinner.”