Sarah Parish, the Stay Close actress, and her husband, Jamie Murray, have shared two children together. But their hearts were shattered in January 2009 when they lost their first daughter, Ella-Jayne, just eight months old.
Ella-Jayne was born with a severe heart defect – Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, causing a large hole in her heart and a defective heart valve. She spent the first four months of her life in intensive care, fighting for every breath.
In the year they lost Ella-Jayne, Sarah and Jamie welcomed their second daughter, Nell, but the memory of their firstborn has remained alive in their hearts through extraordinary efforts to give back to the medical community that cared for Ella-Jayne during her short life.
A Journey of Healing Through Action
In 2016, Sarah spoke openly about the family’s grief, revealing how they coped with their unimaginable loss. “Grief is a personal thing,” she told The Guardian. “Jim and I knew we had to deal with Ella-Jayne’s death in our own way. So we went to Cambodia to work in an orphanage for a couple of months, and then we set up a charity, the Murray Parish Trust.”
The couple’s decision to raise money for the paediatric intensive care unit at Southampton Hospital marked the beginning of their healing journey. Sarah explained in a 2022 interview with This Morning, “When Ella-Jayne passed, we felt we couldn’t walk away from the hospital without giving something back to the surgeons, doctors, nurses, and all the incredible people who helped us so much.”
What started with a few sponsored walks and a cake sale has now blossomed into a full-time charity. Sarah humbly smiled as she reflected, “It has snowballed somewhat.” To date, the charity has raised over £5 million, which has contributed to vital new equipment for the children’s emergency and trauma departments in the region.
The Pain of Loss and the Strain on Their Marriage
In a 2017 column for Mail, Sarah revealed how the grief from losing Ella-Jayne nearly tore apart her marriage. “Such an incredible loss inevitably puts an enormous strain on a relationship because people grieve in different ways,” she wrote. “It would take the most emotionally mature people to be able to cope in that situation, and to comfort one another in the correct way. We have made mistakes and done things that didn’t work for each other – and you either end up together, or you don’t.”
Sarah continued, “The day she died, she took a bottle for the first time; she held our gaze and smiled into our eyes. For Jim and I, it was very, very difficult. It left a huge hole in our lives. Losing a child is the hardest thing to happen to anyone. We had never experienced tragedy before she died. We had never truly understood grief or loss.”
Despite the immense strain, the couple managed to hold onto each other. Sarah added, “I had support from my friends. But at home, Jim and I did things that didn’t work for each other. The pressure of grief is such that either you end up separating, or, miraculously, you don’t. Jim and I have remained together despite some terrible, terrible times.”
A Legacy of Love and Giving
Today, the Murray Parish Trust continues to make a difference, funding vital medical advancements and providing support for children and families facing similar hardships. Sarah and Jamie’s journey through pain and loss has transformed into something far greater than they could have ever imagined—a legacy of love, compassion, and hope.
Through their charity, they’ve helped countless children in need, all while keeping Ella-Jayne’s memory alive in the most beautiful and meaningful way possible.
Sarah Parish’s story isn’t just one of loss—it’s a testament to the power of turning heartache into action, and how a grieving family can create lasting change in the world.
A Community United in Grief and Giving
The impact of their work continues to spread across the UK, with an ever-growing community rallying around the Murray Parish Trust. Their incredible story is a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit, and how even the darkest moments can lead to a brighter future for others in need.
