Jock Zonfrillo’s wife, Lauren Fried is navigating grief with their two kids

“We had Isla’s first birthday party without her Papa.”

MasterChef judge, Jock Zonfrillo passed away aged 46 on April 30, 2023. In the months since, Jock’s wife, Lauren Fried has been navigating her way through grief with the couple’s two children, six-year-old Alfie and three-year-old Isla.

Lauren has taken over the late chef’s Instagram account and regularly posts tributes and memories of her husband.

While navigating her own grief, the mum-of-two shares beautiful posts about her sweet family to celebrate milestones, such as Isla’s recent birthday – her first without beloved “papa”.

Lauren posted colourful photos of what looked to be a magical day and although there were definitely tears in some photos, her caption reassured the loving followers that the birthday girl had a wonderful time.

“We had Isla’s first birthday party without her Papa. Jock would have been up all night the day before, the first one out of bed in the morning. Menu planning for weeks,” wrote Lauren in the extended Instagram posts. “Then I would have fallen asleep on Jock’s chest after the party, talking through how it went, if Isla had a good time, did people eat and drink enough, would she remember any of it.

“This year I did a BBQ and the rest of the food was outsourced to my sister and Mark. @avazonfrillo blew up the balloons. Uber delivered the cake. I cried as I dressed the kids. I fell asleep without Jock.”

Lauren recalls, sadly, that it was on Isla’s birthday in 2022 that the family was flying back from Rome, having started their dreams of moving to Italy.

 “A dream that never came to be.“

“For Jock to miss these days seems unfair and unbearable, and another of the firsts we are pushing through as a family. But our little ones are finding joy again, they are being the happy and cheeky children they always were, and I’m grateful that life keeps dragging us forward day by day. lz”

In July, Lauren shared a sweet anecodote with her son on how she’s keeping the memory of Jock alive.

“Alfie has asked me to do some of his Papa activities with him – making crepes and doing hours of Lego were in his requests,” she wrote.

“I went with the easiest option of a trip to the barber, which the boys used to do together, followed by gelato. It put a smile of his face which was beautiful.”

In June, just over a month after he passed away, Lauren shared she is using books to help her explain his death. Posting to Instagram, she showed photos of three books, The Invisible String, The Goodbye Book and Beginnings and Endings and Lifetimes in Between, along with the caption:

“Books have been a bridge to help me explain to our little ones what has happened, what they are feeling, and that love is always around them.

“These are the top three (of many purchases) that the kids have connected with.”

The post was quickly flooded with words of support for Lauren and the children.

“What a thoughtful share. ❤️ cant imagine what youre all going through. Hoping you have loads of love surrounding you all,” wrote one follower.

Added another: “That’s just brought a tear to my eye. You and our little ones must be struggling so much. You’re doing a great job. One day at a time.”

“As a mental health professional, The Invisible String is my number one recommendation for loss. Thank you so much for sharing. So good that books are a bridge as you navigate this incredibly sad and difficult time. 💚,” commented another follower.

“Thank you for sharing your journey and keeping Jocks memory alive to us,” someone else added.

Jock Zonfrillo also has two adult children, Ava and Sophia, from previous marriages.

Weeks after her father’s funeral, Ava posted a series of photos to Instagram with the heartfelt caption, “Still can’t accept that we’ll be remembering you for more time than we had you, but doesn’t mean we’ll love you any less. I love you dad, always.”

She also took to Instagram to share an emotional photo montage with her father, captioning the post “I never thought I’d lose you at 22.”

The accompanying audio was equally heartbreaking: “I miss you, Dad, I miss you until I close my eyes.” 

WATCH NOW: Ava Zonfrillo’s tribute to her late father.

In Lauren’s first post since her husband’s death she spoke about the support she had received.

“It’s been a month since we lost Jock, and I put a line in the sand thinking that at the one month mark, I would turn some sort of a corner. Obviously that hasn’t happened,” she said.

“And there’s no time that I can allocate to say thank you to everyone, I’m just overwhelmed by the messages that came in from people all over the world that knew him or didn’t know him.”

She continued: “I really wish that he knew how loved he was and he knew the impact that he had on so many people.”

Lauren also spoke of the projects Jock had been working on before his death and asked his followers for thoughts of whether she should release them in the future.  

“He had lots of projects – he was working on a lot that he’d finished, and I just don’t know what’s appropriate or what you guys wanna see on here,” she said. “He’s got a lot of behind the scenes interviews and photos from MasterChef, he’s got books, a fashion range, he’s got spirits ageing in a distillery in Tassie,” she explained.

“He’s got a TV show he filmed in Italy last year with the family.”

“Somehow we will work out whether there’s a path forward here, or if we don’t do anything at all, but thanks again and I will manage his channel from now on and I will respond to as much as I can. Thank you.”