Paula Yates And Daughter Peaches Geldof Share Tragic Connections In Life, Death

Paula Yates and her daughter Peaches Geldof lived eerily similar lives, both struggling with demons while raising young children and ultimately succumbing to the same addictions.

A post-mortem examination released Wednesday revealed that Peaches Geldof’s April 7 death was caused by a heroin overdose, the same cause of death for her mother Paula Yates years earlier.

Peaches was caring for her 11-month-old son Phaedra at her family home when she was found dead, and though police initially listed her passing as “unexplained” they noted that there was drug paraphernalia at the scene. The Times of London reported that someone may have removed evidence of heroin from the scene after Geldof’s death.

Peaches Geldof, 25, had admitted to drug use in the past and even described herself as a “wild child.” There were also reports that at age 19 she nearly overdosed, collapsing in her home in London and needing to be revived.

Her life was very similar to mother Paula Yates, who died of a drug overdose in 2000. Peaches Geldof said it took her years to be able to cope with her mother’s passing.

“I remember the day my mother died, and it’s still hard to talk about it. I just blocked it out. I went to school the next day because my father’s mentality was ‘keep calm and carry on,'” she said.

“So we all went to school and tried to act as if nothing had happened. But it had happened. I didn’t grieve. I didn’t cry at her funeral. I couldn’t express anything because I was just numb to it all. I didn’t start grieving for my mother properly until I was maybe 16.”

The tragic connection between Peaches Geldof and her mother Paula Yates continued even after their deaths. Geldof’s funeral was held in April in the same Kent church where her mother’s funeral was held in 2000.