Just like Paula, Peaches longed to be loved, the perfect mum . . . and thin
RIGHT up until her tragic death, Peaches Geldof never stopped striving to achieve her vision of perfection.
She had the house in the country, worth nearly £1 million, bought on her earnings as one of the new breed of media blondes. It was modelled on the home in Faversham, Kent, where she had spent weekends with her mother Paula Yates and father Bob Geldof as a child.
She had her cream Aga — a pride and joy. Her golden retriever Parpy reminded her of her childhood dog Flossie. Earlier this year s he bought a Newfoundland puppy, Bogwot, which she delightedly said looked like a ‘small bear’.
And then, of course, there were her two sons, Astala (whom she called Narny) 23 months, and Phaedra (Phaedy) 11 months, to whom she was an utterly devoted mother.
In her final magazine column, earlier this year, Miss Geldof said her two young sons had made her ‘happier than ever’.
Now that seemingly idyllic existence is u n der intense scrutiny a s mystery continues to surround what happened in her final hours.
As the death is described as unexplained, it would imply that neither drugs nor a suicide note were found, as these would offer possible explanations as to how she died. However, Kent Police, who say a post mortem examination will be carried out today, will not confirm what was discovered at the house after they responded to a report of ‘concern for the welfare of a woman’ on Monday.
Yesterday, her older sister Fifi posted a photograph of her and Peaches as young girls on social media site Instagram, with the message: ‘My beautiful baby sister . . . Gone but never forgotten. I love you, Peaches x.’
And in a heart-breaking tribute, her 62-yearold father has said he was ‘beyond pain’ on learning of the death of his daughter, who was the ‘wildest, funniest, cleverest, wittiest and the most bonkers of all of us’.
Peaches commented on her life incessantly
to bolster a fragile self- i mage. Throughout the day, even several times an hour, she would Tweet a picture or a short video clip shot on her phone.
‘It was all a way of her crying: “Love me, love me, love me!” ’ said Gerry Agar, a close family friend yesterday. ‘ Peaches had such terrible self-esteem issues, just as her mum did, and you could see that in the social media.’
This Twitter-mania brought fringe benefits, too. Peaches frequently received freebies, accepted in return for favourable mentions on Twitter. Everything from make-up and shoes to items of furniture were sent to her on the understanding that Peaches would mention the brand to her thousands of Twitter followers. Indeed, her little sons had new wardrobes of designer clothes thanks to such contacts.
The resourceful Peaches was the family breadwinner, working as a freelance TV presenter — for example, reporting fashion trends from the red carpet at shows such as the Baftas and the NME and Brit music awards. Just a few days ago, she appeared at a show for the Tesco clothing line Florence and Fred.
All of these appearances were for a fee and bolstered the family finances. Her husband Thomas Cohen, a singer, has recently been looking for work following t he break- up of his punk- rock band S.C.U.M.
Peaches’s portfolio career of small jobs was similar to the one her mother had. Paula Yates wrote books and appeared on TV shows such as The Tube and the Big Breakfast.
Peaches’s last job was filming a TV show with her pet dog for Sports
‘Paula was very, very badly anorexic’
Relief, where the crew said she was friendly, but apparently frail.
Juggling media work with two tiny children inevitably put her under considerable strain.
She complained on Twitter of ‘waging a neverending war against dirty nappies’. Indeed, she followed t he practice of ‘ attachment parenting’ (which believes a child’s development is enhanced by being kept close to its parents). For example, Peaches would rush to pick her babies up as soon as they cried and put them to sleep in her own bed — even if it meant she barely slept.
She would wearily post pictures online of Phaedra playing outside on a tractor at 6am or tell her followers that she was up for a third or even fourth time in the night.
Some friends suggested that she found country life lonely as her husband spent much time in London with his band-mates.
A few months ago, she hinted that all was not well.
Posting a photograph from their 2012 wedding on the image-sharing site Instagram in February she wrote: ‘ Here’s one for my sweet husband!! Love you Weg sorry I am annoying sometimes. Brownie and Hoof forever.’ (Weg, Brownie and Hoof being nicknames for her husband and sons.)
It is believed Tom was visiting his parents in South-East London with the two boys when she died.
Those close to her are perplexed by her death, which the police say is still unexplained. They can’t believe that such a mother could have even considered leaving her children behind, particularly after the trauma caused by the death of her own mother.
Her friend Danielle Nay, an events manager, s ai d Peaches had appeared utterly content. ‘The role of her life, as radiant wife, mum and domestic goddess, brought her immense happiness and peace,’ she said.
Danielle, who planned Peaches’s wedding, added: ‘I’ll never forget how beautiful she looked that day.