Entertainment
Richard E Grant reveals he’s not ready to date again after death of his wife: ‘It’s still too raw and present’-Rebecca Sayce-Entertainment – Metro
The couple shared almost 40 years together.
Richard E Grant lost his wife last year (Pictures: Beretta / Sims / Shutterstock / AFP via Getty Images)
Richard E Grant has revealed that friends have been trying to matchmake him following the death of his wife, but he is not yet ready to date.
Joan Washington, who had been married to the star since 1986, died in 2021 eight months after she was diagnosed with lung cancer.
The couple had been together for 38 years and shared one daughter, Olivia Grant, as well as Washington’s son, Tom Washington, from a previous relationship.
Washington was a respected voice coach and worked with the likes of Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes in her career, being described by Liv Tyler as ‘just the best, hands down’.
Grant, 65, revealed that since her death, friends have tried to fix him up with someone new, but it is just ‘too raw and present’ for the Hollywood star.
‘It’s not something I could even conceive of at this point,’ he told The Guardian.
The pair had been together for 38 years (Picture: Dave M. Benett / Getty Images)
‘It’s still too raw and present, and I am still having an ongoing conversation with my wife in my head.’
The Withnail and I star wrote about his wife in his new memoir, A Pocketful of Happiness, which is set to be released on September 29.
He revealed that when he first met her, she was ‘boiler-suited, Kicker-booted and sporting a Laurie Anderson spiked haircut, a charismatic and formidable presence.’
Richard and Joan share one child together, Olivia, as well as Joan’s son, Tom, from a previous relationship (Picture: Tolga Akmen /AFP via Getty Images)
He also reflected on his wife’s death, saying how she didn’t wake properly that morning after doctors had warned him the day earlier she may die that evening.
Grant said he sat stroking her hand and ‘talking softly about some of the daft things we’ve done.’
Grant revealed his final words to Washington later that evening, as he encouraged her to let go: ‘At 7pm, her breathing slows quite suddenly. Keep repeating: “It’s all okay, my angel. Don’t hold on. We all love you so. So, so much.”
‘After each intake of breath, the gap until the next inhalation gets longer. At 7.25, I thought that her hand felt like it was cooling in mine.’
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