‘I kissed her a lot and told her I loved her’: Football hardman Vinnie Jones breaks down in tears as he recalls final moments with his wife before she died of cancer
- Vinnie Jones, 54, said he ‘cuddled and kissed his wife’ during her final moments
- The footballer-turned-actor says he cried ‘almost every night’ since her passing
- Tanya died in their Hollywood home in July after a six-year battle with cancer
A tearful Vinnie Jones has spoken of the moment his beloved wife Tanya died after a six-year battle with cancer.
The hardman footballer-turned-actor told the Sunday Mirror he cried ‘almost every night’ since his wife of 25 years died in their Hollywood home on July 6.
Speaking of her final moments, surrounded by family, he said: ‘We knew it was the end, we were cuddling her. I kissed her a lot and told her I loved her. I kept saying “I love you, I love you”.’
Jones, 54, who won the 1988 FA Cup with Wimbledon’s ‘Crazy Gang’ and made his film debut in Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels a decade later, said he would ‘never be with anyone else’ after losing his true love.
A tearful Vinnie Jones has spoken of the moment his beloved wife Tanya died after a six-year battle with cancer
In 2013, he revealed both he and Tanya had melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, and he was later given the all-clear.
Tanya, who died aged 53, had also been treated twice for cervical cancer and underwent a heart transplant at 21 following the birth of her daughter Kaley.
Jones added: ‘In that last week of her life when the doctors said there were no more treatments, I never told her she was dying. We never spoke of that, I didn’t want her to know.
‘In the hospital I slept there every night and Kaley would come every morning.’
The hardman footballer-turned-actor told the Sunday Mirror he cried ‘almost every night’ since his wife of 25 years died in their Hollywood home on July 6
Speaking of her final moments, surrounded by family, he said: ‘We knew it was the end, we were cuddling her. I kissed her a lot and told her I loved her’
Speaking of their relationship, an emotional Jones said: ‘People say, how did it last? And I say because it was real, true love. I think we found true love.’
The couple met 25 years ago while Vinnie played for AFC Wimbledon, where he and a group of players earned notoriety as a members of the ‘Crazy Gang’ at the club.
They married in Watford in 1994 and renewed their vows in 2007.
Tanya is survived by her daughter, Kaley, by her former husband Steve Terry, and a son, Aaron, who she shares with Vinnie.
Tanya Jones (pictured left in 1994 and right with Vinnie at their wedding) passed away surrounded by her family
At the age of 21, she was forced to undergo an emergency heart transplant and was treated for cervical cancer twice before being diagnosed with melanoma.
It is thought that her cancer may have been a side effect of the drugs she has been taking following the heart transplant 26 years ago.
When the couple were first diagnosed, the former football legend said: ‘When it comes to things like this, women are stronger.
Tanya, who died aged 53, had also been treated twice for cervical cancer and underwent a heart transplant at 21 following the birth of her daughter Kaley
‘Suddenly I’ve gone from the one helping her to the one that needs support.
‘I take my strength from Tanya. She believes her life was saved to save me, and in return I feel it is my role to look after her.’
He added he did not know what he would do without her.
In an interview with the Daily Mirror in 2017, Jones described Tanya as ‘the most incredible person’, adding: ‘I think we’re the perfect match and I was lucky to find it.’