Key Insights

• Anniversary Reflection: Kelly Osbourne commemorates her father’s death with heartfelt posts.
• Emotional Journey: She discusses the complexities of grief and its impact on her life.
• Legacy of Love: Kelly shares cherished memories and the profound influence Ozzy had on her.
• Grief’s Transformation: She expresses how loss has reshaped her identity and perspective.

Today (July 22) marks the first anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne’s death and, on social media, his daughter Kelly has reflected on the loss in two separate posts.

First, she opens up about the ever-fluctuating state of grief and the roller coaster of emotions that comes with processing the loss of a loved one, particularly a loving parent. The 41-year-old, who now spends most of her days in the U.K. with her son Sidney, followed that up with a lengthy, emotional letter to her late father.

After reading the letter, which notes that warm and joyous memories can often be twofold and cause equal amounts of pain and heartache, Kelly’s words on grief resonate even more deeply, which is why we’re presenting her letter first below.

Kelly Osbourne’s Letter to Ozzy A Year After His Death

Kelly addresses her letter to “my daddy,” acknowledging “the world changed forever” when he died. “I always thought life was hard, but life without you has been the hardest thing I have ever had to endure,” Kelly says partway through the message, “You are my everything. My protector. My greatest teacher. My best friend. The apple of my eye. My reason.”

Reflecting on the lovingly ordinary things she enjoyed doing with her father, Kelly adds, “I would give absolutely anything to experience those little moments just one more time.”

Although Ozzy is gone, Kelly still sees traces of him around, especially in her son (seen in a separate post directly below). “Oh, Daddy, you would adore the little man he is becoming. Every single day I catch glimpses of you in him,” she shares.

“This past year has broken me in ways I never knew were possible,” Kelly later assesses, “Everything you warned me would happen happened. But I want you to know that I listened. I did everything you told me to do, and I will continue to follow your words for the rest of my life. Your voice still guides me every day.”

Kelly closes the letter with a multitude of thanks, grateful for her close relationship with her father and the memories they made together.

Read the entire letter below.

My Daddy,

One year ago today, the world changed forever.

Today I sit here beside you in a way I never thought would be possible. I know you are still with me. I feel you in the quiet, in the wind, in every song that stops me in my tracks, is the smell of your cologne and in every moment that love outweighs grief. You are all around me.

The hardest part isn’t that you’re gone. The hardest part is that I can’t touch you. I can’t hold your hand. I can’t wrap my arms around you or feel the safety that only you could give me. I always thought life was hard, but life without you has been the hardest thing I have ever had to endure.

You are my everything. My protector. My greatest teacher. My best friend. The apple of my eye. My reason.

Now all I have are memories. But my God, what beautiful memories they are. Even through all the madness we lived through, you somehow made every moment worthwhile. You taught me that love could exist in the simplest things. A cuddle on the sofa, watching the same television program for what felt like the hundredth time, your incredible jokes, your endless complaining, and of course you asking me for a kiss with a mouth still full of food. I would give absolutely anything to experience those little moments just one more time. I just want to hear you say “Kelly can you?” one more time. And of course, whatever you wanted I would do.

I have never loved anyone or anything as deeply as uniquely as I love you. And now I carry all of that love with nowhere to place it except within me, my son, and mumma. It aches every single day but it is also the greatest privilege of my life to have loved someone so completely.

I wish you could see your grandson. Oh, Daddy, you would adore the little man he is becoming. Every single day I catch glimpses of you in him. Your smile. Your spirit. Your mannerisms. Sometimes it stops me in my tracks because it feels as though you’ve found a way to remind me that love never truly leaves us. Seeing you reflected in him is one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given.

I don’t think you ever truly knew the impact you had on this world. I certainly didn’t until you were gone. Person after person came forward with stories of the hope you gave them, the kindness you showed them, and the strength you inspired in them. You changed lives simply by being yourself and through the beautiful timeless music you created.

You were a true working-class hero who never forgot what he came from!

You made people believe that life could be better because of the way you lived yours—with honesty, loyalty, courage, humor, and a heart bigger than anyone realized. There will never be another you. You carried something extraordinary inside you—a kind of magic that felt heaven-sent—and I will spend the rest of my life feeling grateful that I got to call you my daddy.

This past year has broken me in ways I never knew were possible. Everything you warned me would happen happened. But I want you to know that I listened. I did everything you told me to do and I will continue to follow your words for the rest of my life. Your voice still guides me every day.

Until the day we meet again.

Music may live forever but what our family created—our bond, our laughter, our unwavering love—is eternal. Death could never take that from us.

You may no longer walk beside me but you live in every choice I make, every lesson I pass on, every piece of courage I can find and every beat of my heart.

I will carry you with me for the rest of my days.

Thank you for being my daddy. Thank you for loving me so fiercely. Thank you for making me who I am.

I miss you with every part of my soul.

I love you beyond words, beyond time, beyond this life.

Until we find each other again.

Your little Kelly can you Totsie girl

READ MORE: What Jack Osbourne Wants From Fans on Ozzy Day This Week

What Kelly Osbourne Learned About Grief This Past Year

Preceding the open letter to her father, Kelly shared what grieving for the last year has been like and the emotional toll it has taken on her—feeling like a part of her died with Ozzy.

It’s a remarkable moment of openness and vulnerability especially for someone who has had to grieve such a significant loss in such a public manner. Kelly and her family have been in the spotlight from the livestream spectacle of the funeral procession through Birmingham and many red carpet appearances made at events honoring Ozzy.

Even for us fans as observers it has been impossible not to feel for the Osbournes as they’ve had to continuously engage in conversation about such a significant loss.

“I don’t just mourn the father I lost; I mourn the soul I was before death taught my heart its own name,” Kelly begins setting a stark and somber tone for the words that follow.

Within this post she repeatedly touches on feeling like two different people: “People think grief is missing someone who is gone but the deepest sorrow is waking each day longing for the version of yourself who died with them,” she lays bare.

Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

After more ruminations on grief Kelly laments: “I miss who I was before my daddy died; before my heart became a home for absence.”

She concludes that death does not take our loved ones from us but leaves us living as ghosts of those we used to be.

Kelly’s full message can be seen below.

I don’t just mourn the father I lost; I mourn the soul I was before death taught my heart its own name.

There is a grief that steals more than just your loved one; it quietly takes away laughter’s light from your joy; innocence from your hope; and turns one into a stranger you’ll spend a lifetime trying to recognize again—people think grief is missing someone who is gone but its deepest sorrow lies in waking each day longing for who died alongside them.

Grief is a language no one truly speaks until life forces it upon them.

It cannot be explained borrowed or imagined; only understood through its endless ache when you’ve stood in unbearable silence carrying love without an outlet left to go anywhere else.

I miss who I was before my daddy died; before my heart became home for absence; before every memory became both blessing and wound—some losses don’t simply break us; they divide our lives into two people—the one we were before and left behind after loss occurred!

This cruel truth about grief isn’t just about death taking those we love but rather leaving us living as shadows haunting our past selves!

Below see photos documenting Ozzy’s family through years!