Inside James Morrison’s Relationship With His Partner, Gill Catchpole

Though Gill Catchpole’s death in 2024 shocked all of us, James Morrison was confronted with the possibility of losing his partner years earlier. At the time of the birth of their second daughter, Ada, it was touch and go as to whether Catchpole would make it. As highlighted, Ada was born prematurely. Doctors decided to deliver the baby via C-section as she was breach, making a natural delivery very risky. Little did they know the complications that this would bring. While many C-sections go off without a hitch, Catchpole experienced complications.

In an interview with the Mirror in 2019, Morrison detailed the traumatic event, explaining that Catchpole’s blood pressure plummeted to an almost heart-stopping level when surgeons accidentally cut through the umbilical cord. “Gill said, ‘I’m going’, and there were tears in her eyes,” he explained. “I was a mess. But after the transfusion, her blood pressure went back up quickly.” He went on to praise Catchpole, calling her a “hero” and saying he was in awe of her strength. “She’s my rock. … I could never replace her,” he added.

Given just how testing this time was for the family, who weren’t able to hold Ada for some time after her birth, it’s not surprising that Morrison called his next album “You’re Stronger Than You Know.” At the time, he said it was to remind the couple of how tough they were during this unprecedented part of their lives.