Viewers of This Morning were moved when a mother disclosed that she had her daughter as a result of IVF treatment that had been secretly funded by the late George Michael.
Jo Maidment appeared on the ITV program on Friday, June 23, during a special tribute episode that was broadcast in advance of the star’s upcoming 60th birthday on Sunday, June 25.
She explained how Michael intervened after hearing her on the show in 2010 lamenting the lack of financing for IVF and how she went on to have her “miracle” daughter Betsey.
“Two days later somebody rang me and said there’s a businessman that would like to pay for your IVF,” she shared.
Maidment had no idea who was responsible for the kind offer because the giver had requested anonymity.
“I just didn’t believe it at first,” she said.
“I thought this was just a joke and I was like, ‘Why me and my husband?’
“We are just normal people that were trying to highlight something, and I just couldn’t believe it. It took us a few days to accept because we didn’t come on the show for that, but we thought about it, and it was possibly our only shot of having a baby… so we did (accept).”
A few days after having Betsey, now 11 years old, the family only learned that the unnamed businessman was the Wham! star.
“We got home to lots of flowers, one was with a card and that’s when it was revealed who it was… but we kept that secret and it was so difficult to not tell others!” Maidment said.
Jo Maidment appeared on This Morning (ITV) with her kid.
The musician passed away on Christmas Day of 2016 at the age of 53, and a coroner later found that natural causes were to blame for his demise.
According to Maidment, after learning the tragic news, she contacted his PA and asked if she could let them know what he had done for them.
The star’s actions impressed his admirers, who praised him as a “lovely man” and expressed their gratitude.
“This is such a beautiful story,” one tweeted.
“George Michael what a guy… lovely story,” said another.
Someone else added: “He was taken way too soon.
