Vinnie Jones on This Morning© Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Vinnie Jones opens up about new love Emma Ford after death of beloved wife Tanya

The Gentlemen star's wife of 25 years died of cancer in 2019

TV and film writer
April 4, 2024

Vinnie Jones has opened up about finding love again after the death of his beloved wife Tanya, who died of cancer in 2019. 

The actor is now in a relationship with his PA Emma Ford, who appears in his Discovery+ documentary series, Vinnie Jones in the Country, which follows Vinnie as he renovates his 400-year-old farm in West Sussex into a sustainable agribusiness. 

WATCH: Vinnie Jones stars in The Gentlemen

Speaking about their romance, Vinnie, who has been sober for the past 11 years, told GQ in March: "Maybe she's calmed me down a little bit. Maybe she brings a different perspective to it all for me."

Emma, who Vinnie refers to as 'Blondie', is also sober, and arrived back in England after spending years working and partying in LA, according to GQ. 

© Charlie Gray/Netflix

Vinnie Jones has been sober for 11 years

Reflecting on his grief and "moving forwards" after Tanya's death, the Snatch star told The Mirror: "You know, after four months, four years, five years, ten years, you just keep moving forwards, the grief is always going to be in there. It's how other things can control it. It's how much the flower can grow and and bloom.

"I think, for me, grief was always black and grey, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be colours and happy memories."\

© David Crump/Daily Mail/Shutterstock

Vinnie with his wife Tanya in 1994

Describing his relationship with Emma as "fantastic", he added: "Moving forwards, we meet other people that we are fond of and we fall in love with and vice versa."

Vinnie's romance with Emma comes a few years after the heartbreaking death of his wife of 25 years, Tanya, who died following a six-year battle with cancer aged 53. 

Tanya passed away in 2019

The pair were childhood sweethearts, having met when they were just 12 years old. They tied the knot in 1994 in their hometown of Watford and welcomed one son, Aaron, who is now 33 years old and a soldier in the British Army. Vinnie is also a stepdad to Tanya's daughter from a previous marriage, Kaley.

In May last year, Vinnie revealed that four years after Tanya's passing, he still couldn't comprehend going to bed without her. "Grief is a ghost. It's a blanket. It wraps around you and it pulls you down," he told New Zealand entertainment website Stuff.

© Anna Gowthorpe - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

Vinnie's son Aaron is a soldier in the army

"You never get past the traumatic reality of it. I still can't [expletive] comprehend that I'm going to bed on my own tonight."

"My spirit may be broken inside, but I think I’ve got enough knowledge and enough experience to cope with it," he added.

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