Nicole Kidman’s niece, Lucia Hawley, has shared heartbreaking details of the day her father died.
Angus Hawley, the former husband of Nicole’s sister, Antonia Kidman, died at age 46 of a suspected heart attack in the US during a business trip in 2015.
In a lengthy tribute on Instagram, Lucia, 27, shared how she learned the tragic news about her dad as she was listening to the INXS hit, Never Tear Us Apart.
‘I don’t really know how to describe the feeling of losing someone,’ she said, remembering the moment as the ‘greatest sadness’ in her life.
She continued, ‘I was 16 when he died, while on a business trip in New York.
‘I was playing dress-ups with my then-eight-year-old sister when my mum delivered the news.
Lucia Hawley (pictured) has shared heartbreaking details of the day her father died
Angus Hawley (pictured) of a suspected heart attack in the US at age 46
‘It was a balmy Saturday afternoon, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS was playing in the background, and I was wearing a pink tutu (not the most practical of outfits for receiving such earth–shattering information, but I have always had a flair for the dramatics).’
Lucia, who later became a presenter for 7Bravo, shared how she thought life–changing events would come with a ‘sense of warning’.
Elsewhere in her post, Lucia made the heartbreaking confession that she tried to call her father while still absorbing the shock.
‘I hoped he would pick up, but naturally, he didn’t – he had, in fact, died. Never to be seen or heard from again,’ she wrote.
The journalist then admitted that she went on to call Angus’ number ‘5000 times’ and dissolved into sobs of grief as she ‘ached for dad to return’.
‘Each anniversary since 2015 has marked a different stage of grieving,’ she continued, explaining that she experienced ‘excruciating’ pain in the years that followed her father’s passing.
‘But as time marches on, the pain has become less excruciating, less consuming. Instead, it feels more distant – still tender and present, but not the beast that it used to be…A decade on, I feel I have learnt to live alongside my grief, to embrace it.
She concluded, ‘To nurture and protect it.’
Lucia’s moving tribute included a gallery of throwback family snaps. (Pictured)
She also included a touching throwback family video in which Angus can be seen holding baby Lucia in his arms.
In another moving clip, filmed while Lucia was still a toddler, her dad can be seen improvising a dance with his daughter, as the little tot laughs uproariously.
Lucia also shared a gallery of snaps of her siblings, Hamish, 25, James, 23, and Sybella, 17, sharing precious family time with their dad.
‘It’s hard to put into words how much losing my dad has taught me about the world,’ she captioned the post.
‘In some ways, it feels like yesterday he was here and in others, it’s hard to imagine a world where he existed. 11 years on, and I still miss him every day.
Former Seven presenter Jess Rowe and journalist Melissa Hoyer were among many followers who messaged Lucia with words of support.
‘So beautiful, darling Lucia, thank you for sharing this with us,’ Jess wrote, while Mel added, ‘Articulated so beautifully – what a proud dad he would certainly be.’
Angus, who divorced Antonia Kidman in 2007, is said to have passed away en route to the hospital, following a suspected cardiac arrest.
At the time of his passing, he was married to his second wife, Prue Fisher, who he had wed in March 2011.
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