Richard E Grant’s marriage as wife Joan Washington dies aged 71

Richard E Grant announced the death of his beloved wife Joan (Pictures: PA / AP / Getty / Rex

Announcing the news that his beloved wife Joan Washington had died at the age of 71, Richard E Grant shared the sweetest video of the pair dancing.

The actor declared her the ‘love of my life’ and ‘giver of life to our daughter Olivia’, adding: ‘Our hearts are broken’.

The sweet couple had been together for 37 years and married for 34, with Richard often posting photos of his wife on his social media.

Richard, now 64, and Joan first met at the Actor’s Centre in London, with the actor telling the Independent in 1994: ‘She was wearing a boiler suit and had fairly short, cropped hair and Kicker shoes, and was chain-smoking, which I thought was insane.

‘She was teaching an accent session with a bunch of actors, and I thought she had the most wonderful voice and huge, sort of monkey eyes. She seemed fairly frenetic. I thought that she was really cute and all that. It was December 1982.’

While Richard said they ‘got on instantly’, Joan claimed she initially found her husband ‘quite annoying’ as he he’d get the giggles at the wrong moment.

Richard and Joan were married for 34 years (Picture: Getty Images for The Old Vic Theatre)

She added: ‘He was hyper-energetic, very enthusiastic, incredibly open. I thought he was very talented – when I see somebody read and practise dialect, I have a good idea if they’ve got talent as an actor. I thought his hairy arms were fabulous. I found him good-looking, and very funny!’

After Joan split from her first husband, Richard proposed and the pair tied the knot in 1986.

Richard insisted he’d never thought about marriage until meeting Joan, and said Joan wasn’t keen on the idea of getting married again.

However, he changed his mind when they spent six weeks apart when Richard returned home to Eswatini for a Christmas break, and realised that marriage would be the ultimate commitment.

The couple welcomed their daughter Olivia in January 1989.

Meanwhile, since joining social media, Richard has often shared loved-up photos of himself and Joan, especially on milestones and anniversaries.

During the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown last year, the pair appeared to have a blast together, with Richard sharing photos of them enjoying walks and even a cute ‘post-lunch dance’.

Meanwhile, in November last year, the pair celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary.

Richard shared a photo from their wedding day alongside three updated snaps of them giggling away together.

‘Married @joandialect 34 years ago today & together for 37 years and counting! ❤️💍❤️🎂❤️🎩,’ he wrote.

Since, Richard has announced the heartbreaking news of Joan’s death, with fans and friends quick to share supportive messages.

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Sharing a gorgeous video of the pair of them dancing to The Platters’ Only You, he penned an emotional tribute, writing: ‘🎵ONLY YOU!🎵Joan – Love of my Life, giver of Life to our daughter Olivia. Our hearts are broken with the loss of your Life last night.

’35 years married and 38 together. To be truly known and seen by you, is your immeasurable gift. Do not forget us, sweet Monkee-mine 💔💔💔💔.’

MORE : Richard E Grant’s wife Joan Washington dies aged 71: ‘Our hearts are broken’