ANNIE Lennox has spoken about the "awful" US kayak incident which claimed the life of her daughter Tali's model boyfriend Ian Jones.
Mr Jones, 32, was trying to save Tali Lennox's life on August 8, last year, after their kayak was capsized by powerful currents on the Hudson River in upstate New York.
The 61-year-old Scots superstar spoke about her youngest daughter's ordeal on New York's river saying: "She was involved, as you know and many people know, in a really sort of fatal accident. Tali is here, Tali is alright."
She said on ITV's Lorraine show: "It was awful. And I think when you have experiences like this your gratitude for life it becomes like a day to day thing."
The Eurythmics singer added: "I think about people on a daily basis that have to live with such tragedy and loss and I empathise with them always."
Mr Jones' death was deemed an accidental drowning after authorities pulled his body from the water near the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club.
Ms Lennox also told host Lorraine Kelly about her relationship with her daughters Tali and Lola, with whom she is very close despite the huge distance between them.
"We're very close. Very close with them, even though they live thousands of miles away," she said before talking about her struggles and the stillbirth of her son Daniel in 1988.
"And to be frank with you, because you asked me also earlier, what was it that motivated you, and I have to say being a mother," she said.
"There were these different phases in my life, you know, when I was aspiring to be a singer, songwriter and thought I didn't have a hope in hell and then I met Dave (Stewart) and we created Eurythmics and it was a struggle, things don't just land on your lap.
"And then eventually in my thirties I was so fortunate to have my daughters as I went through losing a child and again I think about people who have gone through that experience.
"I'm that kind of person I think you either have a natural empathy for others or maybe you have less."
She added: "Both my parents died of cancer and I understand what that's about and I think the thing is to find a reason to live and in a funny way these things that happen to you, for everybody, the dark things that happen to people, they can either destroy you or they can give you a sense of purpose.
"So for me I think that's really what has driven me for so many years is just to find that purpose and find that passion."
Tali Lennox, who was rescued by a passing boat said after her boyfriend's body was discovered: "My heart is shattered. My best friend, my soul mate, my partner in crime and creativity, the love and light of my life is no longer with me.
"All the love that has been sent to me is giving me the strength to get through this. I know that he is so so happy that I was safely rescued."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here