Vinnie Jones, 54 recently lost his wife of 25 years, Tanya to skin cancer and opened up about how he “still talks to her every day” in an exclusive interview. The former footballer has been deemed “inspirational” by fans and fellow widowers dealing with the loss of a partner.
Speaking to The Sun, the 54-year-old said: “I talk to her all of the time. Constantly, every day.
“We have a little chat when I’m making my bed. This morning I went ‘there you go babe, look’ and it wasn’t my best bed making, so I re-did it.”
He spoke about the impact of Tanya’s death and how it’s affected daughter, Kayley and son Aaron, who’s training to be a pilot in Ireland.
He explains: “Tanya’s little dog Gypsy passed away last week.
“Kayley phoned me at 3am to tell me. That dog never left her side. He was about ten. He had a lot of cancers, liver failure and everything else.”
Vinnie said he took a “positive view” from the loss of the family pet.
“But we take a positive view — he’s with Tanya now. It’s incredible how he died so close to her.”
He said he believes Tanya and Gypsy “had a spiritual bond”.
“They were that close and he was with her when she passed,” he added.
Tanya passed away at the family home in Los Angeles after losing her six year battle with cancer, aged just 53.
She was diagnosed with melanoma, back in 2013.
Vinnie also battled the disease, that’s the most serious of skin cancers, but was given the all-clear while his wife did not.
She had also been treated twice for cervical cancer and underwent a heart transplant at 21 after the birth of Kayley.
Vinnie revealed he has sold their house since his beloved’s death because it held “too many memories” and that it would be “too heartbreaking” to stay without her.
The actor is currently starring on X Factor Celebrity as a tribute to his wife.
He ended up being given a fast pass to the live shows by head judge Simon Cowell, admitting that it’d been Tanya who wanted him to appear on the ITV series in the first place.
He explained: “There’s one song that I like, which I might be singing. It’s one that means a lot to us.
“I can see her now looking out the window of the car tapping along to it. There are a lot of songs that mean a lot to us.”
He told The Mirror: “I’m not treating it like a singing competition, I’m doing it as a tribute for Tanya.”
The star continued: “The biggest part of doing X Factor was Tanya. She loved the show, she thought it would be brilliant.
“It gave Tanya something to look forward to, to come over to London and get well for.”
Vinnie confessed there’s one song that could break him down, but he hopes to be able to make his late wife proud by powering through.
Last month, the star told fans that if he won the talent show, he would donate any proceeds to the hospitals that treated his wife.
He tweeted to his 136, 900 Twitter followers: “I’ve decided any proceeds of a record contract from X-factor will go to Harefield hospital and Cedars Sinai.
“NOW I’m ready to Rock n Roll.”
Fans wished him “all the luck the world” and that he has their votes.
X Factor Celebrity continues on Saturday on ITV.
