WATCH: Maxine’s Tearful Malta’s Got Talent Moment Is More Meaningful Than You Think
Our hearts were temporarily broken yesterday night as Malta’s Got Talent’s sweetheart judge Maxine Aquilina shed a few tears during a particularly impressive audition.
But what was behind Aquilina’s short emotional break?
Quite a lot, actually. Aquilina’s mother, Jackie, sadly passed away three years ago after losing her battle with cancer.
When Malta’s Got Talent contestant Denica Apostolovoska belted out a heartfelt cover of Robbie Williams’ ‘Angels’ – which also happened to be Maxine and Jackie’s song – the Malta’s Got Talent judge couldn’t help but think of her mother.
Coincidentally, Denica dedicated her performance, which was an acoustic mash-up of some well-known songs, to her mother, who also passed away a few years ago.
And once Denica explained the emotion behind her performance to the show’s judges, Aquilina was instantly moved to tears.
But Aquilina didn’t let this tragedy stop her from fulfilling her dreams.
Rather, it actually inspired her to help out others in need. Back in 2018, Aquilina founded an organisation called ‘Jays of Sunshine’ together with her friend Angie Amato.
Both founders had lost their mothers to cancer a few years back, and collectively decided it was time to bring a ray of sunshine to other people going through a bit of a cloudy period.
‘Jays of Sunshine’ was thus founded to help make the dreams of children undergoing treatment in Mater Dei’s Rainbow Ward come true.
And it’s safe to say that their work has been nothing short of life-changing.
From MacBooks and Nintendo Switches to overseas trips and yummy treats, Aquilina and Amato have quite literally been rays of sunshine to all these young fighters.
Who knows what next Sunday’s episode of Malta’s Got Talent has in store – but Maxine’s heartfelt reaction had us all on her side.