Woman who lost mum to cancer and brother to suicide to walk 270km from Cardiff to London in eight days to raise money

A 27-year-old businesswoman who named her successful jewellery company after her late mother will walk more than a marathon a day for eight days from Cardiff to London to support those experiencing loss after her brother took his own life as he “couldn’t live without” their “best mum ever”.

Olivia Jenkins, the founder of D.Louise who lives in Wimbledon but is originally from Cardiff, lost her mother Debbie to cancer in 2017, aged 49, and lost her brother Jack to suicide in 2021, aged 27.

Olivia said Debbie was “put on this Earth” to be a mother, describing her as a “rock star” and her brother as “one of the kindest, loveliest people that ever could have lived”.

When Debbie passed away, Olivia felt “numb” and initially struggled to grieve – but for her brother, who was “living day-in-day-out” with her while she fought cancer, it “took its toll on him”.

“He just couldn’t live without her,” Olivia told PA Real Life.

“He just found it way too hard because he was so sensitive, and I think he just felt responsible for her, and looking after her, that when she passed, he just couldn’t deal with it any more.”

Olivia, who founded D.Louise with her 27-year-old partner, also called Jack, said her father Nick, 55, put “so much love” into his children after Debbie passed away, so losing his son and his wife was “just devastating”.

Through navigating the loss of her two family members, Olivia has found walking to be extremely beneficial, as she said it “gives you the space” to think and talk in a non-intensive environment.

Now feeling “ready”, Olivia has set herself the “mammoth task” of walking from Cardiff to London in memory of her mother and brother, and will will set off on March 3 and finish on Mother’s Day.

She will be raising money for Marie Curie Hospice in Cardiff, where her mother was cared for, and hopes other people will join her at different stages during the “inclusive challenge”.

Olivia said the walk, which will take eight days and cover around 170 miles, is a physical representation of “the journey” she has had to this day, and she hopes it will help others talk about loss.

“I’m just an ordinary girl, there’s nothing special about me… but I feel like, with my message or my story, if I can do it, then anyone can do it,” Olivia said.

“So many bad things happen to good people but it’s how you choose to react to those bad things that can really propel you forward.

“If I can even help just one person get through whatever they’re going through, for me, I couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”

Olivia, who is originally from Cardiff, said her mother Debbie was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012, and although she reached remission, the disease returned in her spine, back and lungs.

Since chemotherapy and radiotherapy were unsuccessful the second time round, Olivia’s family needed to raise funds in order to pay for immunotherapy privately, as each session cost around £10,000.

They managed to raise around £50,000 for the immunotherapy, which was was Debbie’s “last chance” – but after this was unsuccessful, they decided to stop all treatment from March 2017.

Debbie then spent her final weeks at Marie Curie Hospice, in Cardiff, where staff went above and beyond to care for her, before being transferred back home where she died, aged 49, in June that year.

Olivia felt “numb” at first, putting her thoughts and feelings into a “box and burying it” – but now, reflecting back, she said she is extremely “grateful” for the time they had together.

“The one thought that I always have is that I am grateful that I had her for my whole life in a very loving and nurturing way,” she said.

“I always think about people who don’t have that love and support from their parents, and I probably got more love from my mum in the time that I did have her than some people get in their whole life.

“I always think I’m so lucky that I had her for that time because she was literally the best mum ever, so I just try and be grateful for what I had rather than focus on what I’ve lost.”

In 2021, Olivia founded her jewellery company D.Louise, named after her mother, as she loves that memories are attached to jewellery, with each piece having an “individual story”.

This gave her “a purpose” in the years following her mother’s death and allowed her to “create something in her name and for her”.

“She’s part of my every single day,” Olivia said.

“I have to see her name every day and I get to be surrounded by her and it’s really comforting.”

However, for her brother Jack, who was living at home and witnessed their mother’s daily struggles, Olivia said he “couldn’t live without her” and he took his own life, aged 27, in September 2021, after Olivia founded D.Louise.

Olivia received the news while she was holidaying with her partner Jack, and she said “it just exploded our world”.

“It was the worst feeling I’ve ever felt in my life… it was devastating,” she said.

“It was the worst 24 to 48 hours of my entire life, it really just destroyed the world that you’re living in.”

Olivia believes that the best way to overcome difficult situations is to “go through them”, and she said walking and talking about her family members has been extremely beneficial while navigating grief.

Now, years after Debbie and Jack’s deaths, Olivia has challenged herself to walk from Cardiff to London, stopping at various checkpoints along the way, to raise money for Marie Curie Hospice.

She bought a treadmill so she can walk while she is working, and last week she managed to complete 50,000 steps every day as part of her training plan.

The Walk & Talk challenge will start on March 3 and end on Mother’s Day on March 10, as an “additional tribute” to Debbie, and Olivia will be well-equipped with snacks – including a 1kg pick and mix bag.

She will be walking more than a marathon (26.2 miles) a day, which will take approximately seven to eight hours, and the last leg will start from Watford and end in Wimbledon where Olivia lives.

While Olivia said she is “nervous to be centre of attention”, she knows the challenge will be “rewarding” and hopes she can help inspire others and encourage people to talk about “taboo” topics like loss.

“I personally think that the best way through difficult situations is to go through them,” Olivia said.

“It’s making sure that you talk about them, with whoever’s around, and making it normal to bring them up. It shouldn’t be a taboo subject.

“By acknowledging that they’re not here, it’s sad, but at the same time, you can’t forget them. You can’t just let life go on and pretend that they didn’t exist, which I think a lot of people do.

“I understand that it is painful to talk about it, but I think that the more you deal with it head on, the better it will be because you’re always making it normal to mention.”

To find out more about Olivia’s walk and fundraiser, visit: justgiving.com/page/dlouisewalkandtalk.

For mental health support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org.