The tragic backstory behind Celebs Go Dating’s Tom Zanetti

It would be easy to think from the Instagram feed belonging to Tom Zanetti that his life has been nothing short of scantily clad models, expensive cars and partying, and although there is some truth to that, it certainly hasn’t been without tragedy. In 2010, Tom Zanetti’s girlfriend Lizzie fell asleep at the wheel and hit a tree on the way home from work, later passing away in hospital. Tom, who had fathered a child with a previous girlfriend, found himself in a deep depression but persevered for his son.

Now 31, Tom and 14-year-old Deaconn seem to be a great family unit as Tom looks into the future for love on E4’s Celebs Go Dating, so let’s take a look back at his life before becoming a renowned music producer and DJ.

Tom and his son Deaconn

At what age did Tom Zanetti become a father?

Tom Zanetti first discovered he was going to be a father when he was just 16, which he wasn’t ready for. “Before I found out my son was coming I was in and out of trouble quite often,” he told the Jsky Podcast. “I used to do things I shouldn’t really have been doing to make money.”

Working every job he could to ensure that his family would remain safe and comfortable once his son was born, Tom worked in a factory fixing wooden pallets, where his shifts would last from six in the morning to six in the evening: “I did anything I could to try and earn money legitimately to fund my son.

“I remember when I was 17 I was on my bed at home. All my pals were out and I was waking up five times a night feeding my son on the end of my bed, rocking him to sleep. I used to love it. I love my son to pieces.”

Tom posted this image on Instagram reflecting on the loss of his girlfriend and grandfather to car crashes

What happened to Tom Zanetti’s ex-girlfriend?

On the 10th August 2010 disaster struck as Lizzie, his girlfriend whom he met when Deaconn was 18 months old, was killed in a car accident at the age of 20. Returning from work in Manchester, she lost control of her car and hit a tree, passing away later in hospital.

“She fell asleep at the wheel. It was really hard,” Tom told the Jsky Podcast. “When Lizzie died I was finished. I didn’t want to be here but I had my son with me. I never cried in front of my son. I was always upbeat in from of Deaconn. If he left the room then I’d be really upset.”

Tom Zanetti recently shared a photo of himself in front of an upturned Ferrari, in which he reflected on the loss of his grandfather and girlfriend to car-related incidents. “My Grandad Zanetti who was like a dad to me growing up died in a pile-up on the M62, God rest his soul,” he wrote. “A year later my girlfriend at the time passed in a crash on the same stretch of motorway and as you can imagine life wasn’t easy after a few crazy years but had to crack on.

“I loved them a lot, we all did.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Thomas Zanetti (@tomzanettitz)

If that isn’t the most wholesome caption I’ve ever seen on Instagram – and from a 31-year-old house DJ from Leeds!

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