Ashley Roberts’ Dad

Ashley Roberts’ dad took his own life and left Ashley in sadness and confusion. The musician had greatly inspired Ashley to be an artist and has left deep wounds following his passing. 

We look into how Ashley emerged from the trying times, her endeavors in the industry and a peek into who she really is…

The Passing Of Ashley Roberts’ Dad

Ashley’s dad Pat Robert was a drummer with the 60s’ legends The Mamas & The Papas and was said to have been suffering physical and mental issues for some time. 

It was Ashley who shared the bad news through a heartwarming Instagram post. 

The caption read:

“With great sadness in my heart, I wanted to share with you that on the 19th of March – after a long battle of physical and mental health – My father took his own life.

“The past 3.5 weeks I’ve been in a state of shock, confusion, questioning, pain so deep in my guts it’s been hard to come up for air. 

“Feeling like I don’t know how to move forward from here. What am I supposed to do with all this?

“For now, I sit here with this pain – Inviting it ALL in. To teach me, to heal me, to rebuild me.

“If any of you have gone through something similar. I understand and my heart goes out to you.”

Who Is Ashley Roberts?

Image Source/The Sun

Ashley is an Arizona girl and in 2000, at the age of 19, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her passion in music. 

Soon enough, Ashley joined the Pussycat Dolls, a pop music recording group. She gained mainstream recognition following the success of the group. 

Image Source/The Sun

In 2010, she left the group with this note:

“Yes, I have left the Pussycat Dolls. I love you all sooo much!!! I am so grateful to have the love and support of all of you. It was an amazing ride and I learned so much! 

“You all mean the world to me and I’m excited to take you all on a new adventure. An adventure full of creativity, inspiration, learning, growing and lots of fun.”

Quite surprisingly, after her exit from the Pussycat Dolls, Ashley travelled around the world with a spiritual guru known as Amma. 

“I just wanted to feel the fire for performing that I’d once had so I took acting classes, I hiked mountains, I sat with gurus and chanted mantras.”

Image Source/Hello Magazine

It was also a remarkable year for Ashley as she released her first solo song, a cover of ‘A Summer Place’. 

She released more covers and finally after 2 years, she released her first official solo single title ‘Yesterday’. 

The Transition To Become A Public Figure…

Following her single release, Ashley competed and emerged a runner-up in the British reality show I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!

Later, she joined Season 8 of Dancing On Ice as a competitor and returned as a judge in the consequent seasons. 

Apart from that, she also shined on as a host in Ant vs Dec and NBC’s 1st Look.

Source/BBC Strictly Come Dancing

Most importantly, her participation in Strictly Come Dancing elevated her appearance as a public figure among the British audience. 

Partnering Pasha Kovalev in Season 16 of the popular dance competition, she became a shining Strictly star as she emerged as the highest-scoring contestant and a record-holder for the most perfect scores received by Strictly Come Dancing’s participants.

She received a whopping five perfect scores from the judges! 

Well, this is not really a surprise as she used to spend her summer breaks during high school travelling from Arizona to California to study modern dance! 

That hard work certainly paid off!

But, Maybe Besides Her Talent And Hard Work, There Was Something Else Driving Ashley Onward And Upwards…

Image Source/Evening Standard

According to Ashley, 

“My dad loved me performing – our strong connection was music and dancing.

“He always wanted me to be back on stage and I know he would have been front row of Strictly if things were different, so I really feel like his soul was behind it.”

So, a singer and a dancer, what else hasn’t she covered? 

She went on air with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden as a showbiz correspondent in Heart FM’s Heart Breakfast. 

Quite unexpectedly, earlier this year, Ashley joined the cast of the West End production of Waitress as Dawn. 

“It’s so weird – radio and musicals were never really goals for me. Growing up my idols were Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul and I was into pop – edgier stuff.

“But what’s been awesome about my life is that it’s taken so many twists. That’s been challenging at times but it’s exciting too.”

The woman sure has fire of passion blazing inside her!

Ashley And Her Family…

Ashley’s family was never solid nor complete. 

Her dad, Pat and her mum, Peggy were divorced.

After leaving his gig as a musician, Ashley’s dad set up his own used car business and faced financial difficulties as well as physical and mental health problems. 

Going bankrupt in 2005, he was accused of defrauding investors.

Despite going through tough times, Ashley chose to remember all the good things about her father.

“I’ve made a conscious choice to remember the good times. I’ve got a picture on my wall of Dad playing the drums because that was his essence and how I want to think of him. 

“Dad was an artist: funny, silly and creative. My goofiness and my performing side definitely come from him.”

Ashley has a brother named Jayce who is suffering from schizophrenia. Jayce had been arrested more than 20 times since 2005. 

Naturally, as a sister, Ashley was heartbroken regarding her brother’s poor condition. 

Image Source/Celebs Now

“My brother’s not well.

“He’s been suffering from schizophrenia since he was a teenager.

“He’s living in a care home now and I talk to him when I can.

“It’s a rough system in America and it took years for the system to finally take him on.

“But now he’s in a good place and getting the kind of care he needs.

“Yes, he’s been to prison and it was hard to get people to do the right thing to get him the right help.”

32-year-old Jayce is now living in a care home in Arizona. And Ashley said,

“I speak to him every now and then and tell him I love him.”

Who Are Her Friends Here?

Image Source/Female First

Ashley formed a strong friendship bond with her Strictly partner Pasha and both of them share a deep love for dance. 

Ashley is also friends with Strictly’s other finalist and popular YouTuber Joe Sugg and Stacey Dooley. 

Moving On To Ashley’s Sweetheart!

Ashley first met Giovanni Pernice in Strictly Come Dancing. Giovanni is a professional dancer and the chemistry they shared was too strong to ignore but, the competition was too big a deal as well! 

Ashely said, 

“We had chemistry doing the show and we were communicating but – I’m not just saying this – I was really focused on Strictly, so I said to Giovanni, “I can’t deny there’s something going on, but can we wait until the show’s done to find out if it’s going anywhere?”

Admirably focused, isn’t she?

So, once the show ended, they went off to the Caribbean to spend Christmas together. 

In an interview with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain, Ashley shared that she believes there is a real connection between them. 

“I feel like we have a real connection. He is also really supportive and he’ll be there on the first day of the Waitress.”

Did Giovanni Attend The Opening To Show His Support To Ashley? 

Image Source/Hello Magazine

He did! Despite his busy tour schedule, he was there to support for Ashley’s opening in Waitress.

“He’s more excited about me doing a musical than I am – he’s seen Aladdin eight times and Dreamgirls 12 times.”

Well, with PDAs around the town, the couple certainly looks like they are having good time together! 

Fun Facts About Ashley Roberts!

1. She started dancing at three and singing at eight. 

2. She has six tattoos!

3. Her nicknames are Angel doll, Ash, and Bombshell.