The Veronicas heartbroken as beloved mum passes away: 'Our angel'

The Veronicas stars Lisa and Jess Origliasso have revealed the devastating news that their beloved mother has passed away.

Colleen, who was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition, called ‘progressive supranuclear palsy’, died on Wednesday surrounded by her daughters.

“Our angel mama and bestfriend Colleen Francis Origliasso ascended into the heavens this past Wednesday, on the beautiful afternoon of September 1st 2021. The first day of Spring, her favourite time of year. She spent her final weeks at home with us in our loving arms and care,” they both wrote on their Instagram pages.

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“There has been no greater honour or blessing than having her as our mummy. She was the greatest connector of all things, had the biggest heart for community & charity, a lifelong supporter of the arts, LGBT+ community, a passionate volunteer for animals and conservation, and she made everyone she met feel like family. And she loved music more than anything else.

“Her strength and compassion was limitless. Her laugh was the most beautiful thing in the world.

We feel it very fitting that her last message we want to share with you all, was the word Love. Please turn up some KD LANG and have a dance in her honour.”

They also shared a number of pages for people to make a donation to in her honour if they so wish, including https://wildlifewarriors.org.au, https://www.swara.com.au, https://brainfoundation.org.au and https://www.seashepherdglobal.org.

Last year, Lisa and Jess opened up about their most “challenging” and “rewarding” role in caring for their mother, in an honest video for Carers Australia.

“Caring for mama is the most challenging thing we’ve ever had to do, but it’s definitely the most rewarding,” Lisa said.

The twins explained that their mother’s condition affected her cognitive and motor function, meaning her ability to walk, talk, think, swallow all started to decline rapidly.

Colleen was first diagnosed five years ago, and when she was admitted to palliative care, Lisa and Jess put their music careers on hold, moving back to Australia to care for her.

“You can’t ever prepare for a role like the one that we’re in, but when you find yourself in it you just do the absolute best you can,” Lisa said.

Jess admitted it took them some time to actually recognise themselves as unpaid carers, but knew early on how big the responsibility was.

“It was almost confusing at the start as to why our emotional and mental health needed a lot of extra support,” Jess said.

“I don't think we realised at the start why things were starting to get really heavy, because we would do what we've been doing any day for her or someone that we love.”

Lisa stressed that that was why having support as a carer is also crucial.

“We’re really lucky that we have each other. On the days where it’s emotionally indescribably hard, we can really count on each other to understand,” she says, as sister Jess tears up.

“So in that regard I know how important it is as a carer to have support, to be able to know that there is someone out there that gets it too.”

The sisters also competed on this year’s season Celebrity Apprentice in order to win money for The Brain Foundation.

With additional reporting by Kristine Tarbert

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