Vinnie Jones says his ‘spirit is broken’ four years after wife Tanya’s death

Vinnie Jones has said that his wife’s death four years ago “broke” his soul and characterised sadness as a “blanket” that “pulls you down.”

The actor and former footballer, 58, lost his beloved wife Tanya Jones, 53, to skin cancer in July 2019, six years after Vinnie was also diagnosed with skin cancer.

The pair had been married for 25 years when she died, having married in 1994, and Vinnie has stated that he has no intentions to remarry.

Now, four years later, he has opened up about the long-term effects of sorrow on him, comparing it to being stuck under water.

‘You’ve got to try and get your head above water, breathe in as long as you can because you know you’re going to be pulled under again,’ Vinne explained.

Speaking to New Zealand entertainment website Stuff, he continued: ‘Grief is a ghost. It’s a blanket. It wraps around you and it pulls you down.’

‘You never get past the traumatic reality of it. I still can’t f****** comprehend that I’m going to bed on my own tonight.’

While Vinnie’s “spirit may be broken inside,” he believes he has the skills and expertise to make it to the other side.

The pair met when they were both 12 years old and lived on the same Watford housing estate throughout their childhoods.

They had a son, Aaron, and Vinnie adopted Tanya’s daughter from her former marriage to footballer Steve Terry, Kaley Jay.

Vinnie famously won the FA Cup as a part of Wimbledon’s so-called ‘Crazy Gang’ six years before marrying Tanya.

Vinnie shared the final card he ever got from Tanya before her death with the world in September 2020, calling the experience “overwhelming.”

In an interview with Piers Morgan at the time, he described preparing Tanya’s burial while she was still alive as “like being in a horror dream.”

Following Tanya’s death, Vinnie sought bereavement counselling, adding, ‘I’m seeing someone three times a week. ‘I thought I was doing well.’