The widow of Carl Sargeant has told an inquest he felt “destroyed” after being sacked as a Welsh government minister and suspended from the Labour party amid allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour towards women.

Bernie Sargeant told the court her husband and his family were left without any support and not knowing the detail of the allegations made against him.

She said Sargeant was deeply upset when the then first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, referred to the claims against him in a television interview as “incidents” rather than allegations and said he was “broken” by his suspension from Labour.

Bernie Sargeant said that on the weekend after he was dismissed Sargeant stayed in bed, hiding beneath the covers. On the day before his death, he was shocked to be doorstepped by a television reporter at the family home in Connah’s Quay, north Wales.

Calling for changes to be made to the way prominent politicians are supported after being sacked, she said: “My children have lost their dad. Lessons have got to be learned. I believe we should have had some support. We were out of our league here.”

Bernie Sargeant told the inquest in Ruthin, north Wales, that her husband heard on Thursday 2 November 2017 that there was going to be a reshuffle. He said: “It’s happening.” She thought it strange as reshuffles typically take place at the start of the week.

The next lunchtime he rang her from Cardiff and told her: “I’ve been binned.” Sargeant informed his wife allegations of inappropriate behaviour to women had been made against him but said he had “no idea” of the details.

She said: “He was quiet. Carl’s not a quiet person. You could feel this had come as a terrible shock to him. He had no information, nothing. He was desperate for information. No support was offered to him. He was devastated. He was shellshocked.”

Bernie Sargeant and the couple’s children, Jack and Lucy, drove to Cardiff, where Sargeant had a flat. She said: “Though he was a big man he looked small. There was something vastly different about him. We as a family went into the bedroom. He had got back into bed and kept pulling the covers over him. He looked ashen. He had no colour in him. He said he felt he’d let us down. I’ve never seen this type of Carl.”

By this time he had been suspended by the Labour party and on “numerous occasions” he tried to get in touch with the party without success, she said. “That was one of the things that broke him,” said Sargeant. “He was a proud member of the Labour party.”

Over the weekend she asked him if he had done what he had been accused of. “He said: ‘No.’ I still believe he hasn’t done anything.”

Questioned by Cathryn McGahey QC, for Carwyn Jones, Sargeant said she had never seen or heard of her husband behaving inappropriately to women. She said she believed “100%” that her husband was innocent of the allegations. She said: “I trust my husband completely ... I believed him. I still believe him.”

Sargeant told the court that her husband had helped lead the campaign for Jones to become first minister, but she considered them colleagues rather than friends.

On Monday 6 November, Bernie Sargeant was shocked when her husband heard that the first minister had given an interview in which he referred to “incidents” rather than allegations when talking about accusations against him. She said he turned a “strange colour”, adding: “He saw that as very significant.”

The family returned to their home in Connah’s Quay, north Wales, but were shocked when a BBC reporter knocked on the door to ask if Carl Sargeant was in. “I told her Carl wasn’t available. That’s my home. That’s my children’s home. Carl’s home. I was upset. I felt they were invading our private space.”

Sargeant became more withdrawn and was still trying to get in touch with the Labour party. Asked by the coroner, John Gittins, if he was “devastated”, Bernie Sargeant said the word was not strong enough. The coroner suggested “destroyed”, to which she agreed.

On the next day, 7 November, she found her husband dead. “I wish we could have helped him,” she said.

She said her husband was a “gentle soul” who had campaigned against domestic violence and could connect with people from all backgrounds. “We’re very proud of everything Carl achieved,” she said.

The inquest continues.