Reverend Richard Coles has opened up about how his close friend Charles Spencer helped him out following the death of his husband David back in 2019.
Chatting about his new book, A Death in the Parish, on Lorraine, the former Strictly star revealed that he and Diana’s brother go way back, and that Charles and Karen were a huge help during the difficult time in his life.
He explained: "Charles and I are old friends actually. We met each other on the country circuit because I was chaplain to the high sheriff of Northamptonshire… so we met on the circuit… when David died, Charles and his wife Karen - I was a mess actually - invited me to stay with them at their house, they were incredibly kind and protective."
Richard and Charles alongside Dr Cat Jarman take part in a podcast called the Rabbit Hole Detectives, where they discuss historical and archaeological stories at length.
© NetflixDuring the show, Richard also confirmed that he had found love again via online dating. Discussing his new beau with Lorraine, she asked him where they had met to which he replied: "Dating app! Best invention of civilisation. It was called Elite Singles which was a bit embarrassing because I wasn’t elite… The third person I met is the person I’m with now."
He continued: "I thought I was out of the game when David died. It was a bit like a polar bear emerging from hibernation and wanting to eat a seal," to which Lorraine jokily replied: "That’s romantic!" He confirmed that he was in a relationship with War Horse actor, Richard Cant.
Speaking to The Guardian back in March 2020, Richard spoke candidly about dealing with the loss, explaining: "After David died, there was a woman at the hospital who had been widowed, too. She said, 'You're going to be mad, for a while. People will never be as nice to you again as they are now, so milk it for all you can.’"
He added: "I've had to subtract David from the future and that has taken all the future with it. It’s a bit blank. I think: ‘What the [expletive] am I going to do? Play the accordion and go to bed at ten past six, I guess. Of course, it’s not the end of my life. But it feels like it’s over sometimes."
How did Rev Richard Coles' partner David die?
David had sadly died from alcoholic liver disease aged just 42. Richard called for the media to stop glamorising excess drinking after his husband's death. He said: "My husband David died of alcoholic liver disease just before Christmas 2019. He was 43, a clergyman, and a former A&E charge nurse. Not an obvious victim, you might think, of alcoholism, but he had been drinking excessively since his teenage years, as a palliative – alcohol is the most readily available anaesthetic in the world – and as a recreation."
Don't want to miss a story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter and get the heads-up on the shows and films everyone’s talking about.
