Friends of singer James Morrison’s partner Gill Catchpole have claimed she was looking forward to big changes in 2024 just days before she was found dead.
Catchpole, a business owner and caterer, was found dead at their family home in Gloucestershire aged 45 on Friday. She got together with the singer as a teenager and shared two young daughters with the star.
Police are not said to be treating her death as suspicious.
According to Mail Online, Catchpole’s fellow residents of the sleepy town of Whitminster, where she also ran a sandwich shop, said she was upbeat and friendly - adding she was positive about the year ahead.
One woman who previously worked closely with her told MailOnline: “I saw Gill very regularly, right up until her death, which has affected us all because we're like one big family around here.
“She was always waving, saying hello and stopping to chat. She told me just a few days ago that she was looking forward to the future and making big changes in 2024.
"I never sensed anything was wrong because that was Gill. She was a very positive and determined person who had gone through a lot recently.”
Another friend added: “She said she wanted a fresh start this year and was planning big changes.
"I took it to mean that she wanted to expand the business, which I know she was very keen to do or make a big life change, like go travelling or something.
“Every time I spoke with her recently I always got the sense that she wasn't totally satisfied with her lot but I just thought that's common when you get into your mid 40s because life can seem a bit dull.”
Morrison - best known for hits such as You Give Me Something - and Catchpole got together when the singer was 17.
They married in 2006. They share two daughters, Elsie, 15, and Ada Rose, five.
Catchpole also recently reportedly underwent a kidney transplant.
Morrison is said to be “devastated” following her passing and is said to have cancelled all of his work commitments in light of his partner’s death.
One family member told The Sun on Monday: “Gill was found dead on Friday at the family’s home in Whitminster.
"James is devastated and is being supported by his family. He is holding it together for their girls but has asked for the family to be left alone to grieve in private.”
The couple got together as teenagers after she moved into his mother's house as a lodger with a then-boyfriend and Morrison began serenading her with songs to impress her.
He said: “She moved in, I started singing all the songs off that album to her. I was playing all of that stuff on the acoustic guitar.
"I'm not like: 'I love romance.' But I do find certain things romantic and the fact that we met each other the way we did. It's like a little fairy tale or something.”
Morrison is an acclaimed songwriter who, as well as performing his own hits, has written for stars including Olly Murs and Demi Lovato.
