Australia mourned on Tuesday after news broke that the husband of a TV presenter who took her own life following a mental health battle tragically died in a suspected suicide.

Perhaps one the most painful aspect of the tragedy is that Erin Jayne Plummer, a host on the morning talk show Studio 10, who passed away in 2022, and her husband Alan Plummer, 49, who was found dead in Sydney on Sunday, left their three children orphaned.

The sisters, once described as ‘mini-me’s’ of the presenter by their father, will now carry the heartbreak of losing both parents throughout their lifetime.

It’s a devastating reality shared by numerous children across the globe, with research pointing towards evidence that the risk of suicide is higher in suicide survivors than in bereaved families with non-suicide deaths.

The 2022 

study

, edited by Paul Wong of the University of Hong Kong, assessed a nationwide sample of South Korea and found the risk of completed suicide was three times higher in suicide survivors than in bereaved families with non-suicide deaths.

US-based orphan Jennie Ostendorf, whose father hung himself in 2020, five months before her mother took her own life following a battle with chronic depression, gave insight into the reality of losing both parents to suicide in a blog post shared on Medium.

She explained how the anniversary of their deaths reminds her how the tragedies stole her childhood: ‘All of this is to say, this time of year marks the death of my life as I knew it. It marks the ultimate role reversal. It marks a coming of age I did not want and was not prepared for.

Here, Femail reveals the tragic instances where parents have taken their lives after suffering the loss of their partner, leaving a trail of children left orphaned.

Much-loved Australian TV presenter Erin Jayne Plummer, who committed suicide in 2022, and husband Alan Plummer, who is thought to have died in a self-harm incident on Sunday, have left three daughters behind 

ERIN JAYNE AND ALAN PLUMMER 

The husband of an Australian TV presenter who took her own life following a mental health battle tragically died in a suspected self-harm incident, leaving their three children orphaned.

Erin Jayne Plummer, a host on morning talk show Studio 10, died by suicide in 2022, leaving behind her heartbroken husband and their three daughters, who were described as ‘mini-me’s’ of the popular presenter.

Alan Plummer, 49, was found dead on Sunday in Freshwater on Sydney’s northern beaches, with a source familiar with the situation describing his death as ‘tragic’.

In a statement, a NSW Police Force spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Officers from Northern Beaches Police Area Command will prepare a report for the information of the Coroner regarding the death of a 49-year-old man at Freshwater on Sunday.’ 

The tragedy comes just two months after Mr Plummer sold the family’s four-bedroom Freshwater home, which they had owned for more than two decades, in a private settlement pre-auction. 

The property, which was purchased by the Plummers for $675,000 in 2002, was initially listed for sale in March this year. Alan was the former director of a now-defunct company called Shine VIP Tours Australia PTY LTD. No further details on his death are available at this time.

Erin was just 42 when she died following mental health difficulties, with her friends saying at the time that they wished they could have done more to ‘help carry the weight of her pain’.

She was a doting mother and ‘loved her girls boundlessly’, friends said, but struggled during the Covid pandemic and had not been her ‘bouncy, energetic self’ in the weeks before her death.

Alan Plummer and Erin Jayne Plummer, who took her life in 2022, are photographed on their wedding day 

Alan’s death leaves the couple’s three daughters (pictured) orphaned – who the father once described as Erin’s ‘mini-me’s’

The Studio 10 and TVSN infomercial host took her own life after a mental health battle, friends said

Erin’s father Peter described her daughters as her ‘little mini versions of her’, and speaking at her funeral, the presenter’s eldest child shared her heartache at losing her beloved mother.

‘Each day that passes I still don’t believe that she’s gone,’ the 15-year-old said. She continued: ‘That a family of three girls will grow up without our mum. This is the thought I can’t seem to get over.’ 

‘Mum was loved by everyone. She was selfless and gave her everything to take my sisters and I to 40 activities each week.

‘She brought so much light to the world that we didn’t realise her heart was in so much pain.’

The teenager concluded the touching tribute: ‘Mum, I hope heaven treats you better than we ever could. She’s not ours anymore but we are hers forever.’

Erin’s youngest daughter also spoke, telling those gathered, ‘My mum was the best person ever. I will always love you dearly mum.’

Following her death, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to help the Plummer family with hiring a gardener and housekeeper to ‘keep the household running’ raised almost $28,000. 

Neighbours also rallied around the family, cooking their meals and bringing them food in the wake of Erin’s death. 

Erin was thrust into the spotlight at a young age when she was scouted at Sydney’s Manly Beach and cast in a tourism campaign that aired on NBC in America

Erin Jayne Plummer was a much-loved host of Studio 10 and was famous for her roles on aerobics and advertorial TV shows

During her career hosting advertorials, Erin appeared on Studio 10, TVSN, Mornings with Kerri-Anne and The Morning Show, and earned the nickname ‘The Danoz Girl’.

She was also a presenter for Aerobics Oz Style for six years. The instructional aerobics TV series, which aired from 1982 to 2005, had a global audience of 40million people at its peak and was broadcast in more than 80 countries.

In addition to her TV career, Erin was an accomplished synchronised swimmer who represented Australia at three world championships and won 11 national titles.

Erin was thrust into the spotlight at a young age when she was scouted at Sydney’s Manly Beach and cast in a tourism campaign that aired on NBC in America.

But it was her role as a TV presenter for which she was best known. Over the years, she promoted everything from massage chairs and workout programs to slimming jeans and steam mops.

When she wasn’t in front of the camera, Erin also did countless voice-overs for TV.

CLAYTON OSTEEN AND VICTORIA PACHECO

A Florida sheriff deputy killed himself ‘for reasons completely unknown’ on New Year’s Eve 2021, starting a tragic chain of events that saw his girlfriend kill herself two days later, leaving their six week-old baby son orphaned.  

Shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve Lucie Sheriff’s Office Deputy Clayton Osteen, 24, attempted suicide but survived and was taken to a hospital. His family later made the decision to remove him from life support. 

Two days after Osteen’s fatal suicide attempt, his partner, colleague and the mother of his one-month-old son, Victoria Pacheco, 23, took her own life.

A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the couple’s son Jayce said: ‘Tragically, for reasons completely unknown and totally out of character, Clayton took his own life December 31st, 2021. 

‘Reeling from the shock of loss, Victoria took her own life two days later.’

It continued: ‘Clayton and Victoria were joy-filled, first-time parents excited about their growing family, enamored with their baby Jayce, and so in love with each other.’ 

Family and friends reeled from the loss and expressed shock at the parents’ choice to end their lives, saying they were as happy as ever after welcoming their new baby and that the reason behind the drastic actions are unknown.