Gossip: I never thought my Amy would live beyond 30

This is the summer Amy Winehouse should have been throwing a party like no other to celebrate her 30th birthday.

Instead, her grieving family are preparing to face the second anniversary of the tragic singer’s untimely death.

Heartbreakingly, mum Janis insists it is no surprise her daughter is no longer with us — as she never expected Amy to make it into her fourth decade.

In a touching interview with The Sun, Janis, 58, says: “When I think Amy would have been 30 this year, it doesn’t feel right.
“I’m not saying I always foresaw this but I wasn’t surprised.

“I couldn’t see Amy as an older person. She was this young girl who exploded into the world like a firecracker and then it was, ‘OK, I’m done — I’m off’. Amy was never meant to be 30.”

Rehab singer Amy died of alcohol poisoning aged 27 on July 23, 2011, following a long battle with drug and alcohol addiction.
Janis’s grief is still fresh and painful — but her eyes light up when she recalls Amy’s childhood.

The retired pharmacist became a single parent when husband Mitch left the family home when Amy was just ten. Despite the many happy memories, Janis admits that life with her daughter was always a battle.

Janis — who suffers from multiple sclerosis — says: “Amy ruled the roost. Her brother, Alex, is like me in that he steps back.

“When Amy was ten, she took over. Mitch left and Amy became the dominant character in the house.

‘Amy would get a KFC and spit it out’ “I screamed and cried but Amy never listened. I couldn’t get her out of bed for school.

“Her schooling was very fragmented because she just switched schools when she wanted.

“I don’t believe there was any one point where you’d say, ‘This is where things started to go wrong for Amy’.

“It was just the life she led and I was no match for her.

“Eventually I stopped lying awake at night worrying and accepted that I couldn’t do anything.

“I didn’t punish her because she could override whatever I did. She was too strong for me.”