Writer and broadcaster Maia Dunphy has revealed she has received a "gut punch" via Whatsapp months after the death of her mum Helen.
Helen Dunphy died in February of this year after a cancer battle with the TV star saying she was "lost" without her mum in the days that followed.
On Friday morning, she posted a heartbreaking post on Twitter with a picture from a Whatsapp group. The icon read 'Mum left' with Maia presuming her mum's phone number had been reassigned.
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The simple notification was enough to upset Dunphy who said: "Such an unexpected gut punch from WhatsApp this morning. My Mum’s phone number must have been reassigned."
She added: "It’s so strange the things that floor you out of nowhere. This is one."
Fans and friends were quick to offer their love with Chris Addison writing, "Oh, Maïa! That's awful."
Another said the same thing happened to them just last week when they were notified that 'Dad left' in a Whatsapp group: "Same thing happened to us last week- unexpected gut punch for sure."
Another woman also opened up and said: "I know the feeling as I used to leave my mum voicemails…until one day it started ringing."
At the time of her mum's death in February, Dunphy said "Cancer is a f*cking horror show."
“And I never trot out platitudes about 'fighting battles' because it somehow implies some people don’t fight hard enough.
“But my Mum bore her recent awful illness with the same stoicism she has approached everything in life, and those of you who know her well, will know how much has happened in these last difficult weeks and how she showed concern for everyone else until her last breath," she wrote at the time.
She said her mum "didn’t doubt for a second how much she was loved."
“She was a remarkable woman; without pretension and with a very rare self-assuredness that was a testament to all the right choices she made in her life, and the acceptance of things she had no choice over."
In the emotional tribute, she went on: "She was the most dedicated Mum anyone could ever imagine; but even that was exceeded by her devotion to her only grandson.
"She and my Dad became my family unit again over the last 5 years, and I am so very grateful for their support and how much they loved my little Tom.
Maia added: “My Mum was a second Mum to him, and I simply could not have coped without her help.
"I’m lost without her already. We love you Mama. Sleep well. X"
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