‘MasterChef Australia: Back to Win’ contestant Rose Adam has paid tribute to her brother George, who died Sunday.
In an Instagram post shared Wednesday, Rose described her sibling as her “best friend” and a “gentle, sweet, honourable, helpful, fiercely protective, funny, loving and strong man”.
As of Wednesday, the family had not disclosed the cause of George Adam’s death. George had helped run The Middle Store, a family-owned Adelaide cafe, with Rose and their sister, Haefa.
“To be fair, when you were born I was pretty annoyed with you for taking my spot as the baby of the family, I was determined not to like you, so much so that I threw a tantrum and made dad take me to the hospital to see mum the day you were born,” Rose wrote in her online tribute next to a photo of her and George.
“But after meeting you for the first time I loved you instantly and all I wanted was to be around you all the time. This was pretty much how it went for the rest of your life. People would meet you and just want to be around you.”
Rose emphasised the pair’s strong bond, saying, “We’ve seen each other through our darkest days”.
She said she’ll “miss” hearing his voice telling her, “whatever it is, we’ll work it out”.
“You are just magic G, nobody will ever break my heart like you did when you left us, I promise to honour you everyday and get on with it. Love you forever G, my lil bro xx,” she said at the end of her emotional note.
Rose, who first appeared on ‘MasterChef Australia’ in 2015, returned to the show in 2020 for the all-star season, ‘MasterChef Australia: Back to Win’.
She, George and Haefa have run The Middle Store in Adelaide since 2015.
On Monday, Rose and Haefa informed customers the cafe would be closed until further notice and any orders and reservations for the week of Christmas had also been cancelled.
“We are absolutely devastated and completely heartbroken at the passing of our beloved little brother George yesterday,” read a message on the business’s Instagram account.
“Thank you to everyone for your love and support yesterday and through messages and phone calls, we’re sorry we can’t respond to you all, it’s just a bit too much right now.”
Haefa also shared a touching tribute to her brother, saying he was “an amazing son, loving brother, caring uncle and loyal friend”.
“I will miss our daily chats so much. I will miss seeing you each and every day. Forever my baby brother, I love you so much,” she wrote to end her post.
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