‘I wish I had never answered the phone’ – Rosie Connolly on the moment she was told her father’s body had been found

Influencer and business owner Rosie Connolly has opened up about how her “whole world turned upside down” when she was told her father’s body had been found after he drowned. The Dublin woman, who lost her father at the age of 18, revealed that she still fears answering phone calls from unknown numbers as a result of the traumatic way she discovered the news. Rosie (34), who founded and runs the 4th Arq leisurewear company, also spoke about the deep connection with her dad that she feels to this day.

Rosie talking to Carl “My dad drowned when I was 18, he was missing for two days,” she told the Phone Truths with Carl Mullan podcast. “My mam was away so my sister and I were dealing with it.” Ms Connolly got a phone call about identifying her dad before she had been informed that a body believed to be her fathers had been found.



“It was one of those things. I wish I had never answered the phone,” she told Carl. “My whole world got turned upside down,” she added.

Ms Connolly said she still feels a connection with her dad and credits him with the amazing things that have happened in her life. “I never wanted to believe I couldn’t talk to him ever again. The way my life has panned out since my dad passed has just been incredible.

Even my mum was sick and she’s gotten through it.” “We all lean on him when we need him. I always feel that connection to him,” she added.

She also spoke about discovering she was pregnant while her mother was battling cancer. Ms Connolly has two children with her husband Paul Quinn - son Harry and daughter Remi. She is also a step-mum to her husband's son Reuben from a previous relationship.

“I trust the timing of my life a lot. I was pregnant, still living at home, my mum was going through cancer treatment at the time – it wasn’t the ideal time for me to come home and say ‘I’m pregnant’. But it all worked out for the better,” she says.

She was also honest about the ups and downs of life and told Carl that she cries all the time, but has surrounded herself with the right team. “I don’t agree with the toxic positivity and like, life is s**t at times. I’ve been through it myself, you can be in that shit moment – but it’s not staying in that shit moment.

Figuring it out. I cry all the time, I’m such a crier, I’ve cried in work, in front of everyone..

. I think feel your emotions and then move on.”.