Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe has broken his silence on his fiancée Kimberly Burch’s death.
Burch died after going overboard on an ’80s-themed cruise. She was 56.
“It’s a rollercoaster. I’m hanging in there,” the musician said in a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk, per Blabbermouth.
“I’m just taking it a day at a time.”
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He later added that the grief has been difficult.
“I loved the hell out of Kimberly and it was just hard to deal with. We basically spent nine years together,” he said.
Downe’s band Faster Pussycat recently launched a US tour – a decision Downe says was best for him.
“Everybody thought going out on the road and doing what I do and being with my family in my band would be good for me,” he said.
“So I’ve taken their advice and [I’m] doing this. We’re going out with some cool bands.”
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Downe expressed his excitement about doing the tour with his bandmates and fellow bands including the Supersuckers, The Rumours and The Lonely Ones.
“We’ve been wanting to do that for decades, and finally, finally we get a chance to do it,” he said.
Despite his grief, Downe is eager to throw his energy into his music.
“I think it’ll be very therapeutic and [I’ll] get to see a bunch of fans and a bunch of friends across the country. So I think it’ll be helpful.”
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While he looks forward to the distraction provided by his tour, he acknowledges it is important to process his grief.
“It’s good to talk about it. It’s good to talk about it with my friends, my close-knit friends,” he said.
“But I don’t really wanna talk about it with strangers, ’cause it doesn’t seem appropriate. It is what it is.”
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Burch’s death was announced in early March.
The realtor had joined Downe on a Royal Caribbean ship, with Faster Pussycat having been booked as one of the musical acts on board the seven-day cruise.
By the second day on the cruise, Burch had gone overboard and was presumed dead, with her family sharing their message confirming her death the next day.
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In conversation with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, Downe claimed that the alleged incident was “alcohol and prescription related” and says he “blames alcohol and pills on it” but prefers to keep the details of her death private.
“I don’t wanna get into what her psyche was at the time but there’s a lot of things that make up people’s lives at a certain time of their life,” he said.
“It’s been hard on everybody.”
If you or someone you know is in need of support contact the National Alcohol and Other Drug hotline on 1800 250 015 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
