Entertainment
Strictly winner opens up on ‘deserving to be happy’ after death of partner-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro
She’s spoken about healing.
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Strictly Come Dancing winner Jill Halfpenny has opened up about finding happiness again after the death of her partner.
The EastEnders actress, 48, tragically lost her partner Matt Janes when he died from a heart attack in 2019 while in the gym.
The death mirrored that of her dad’s, who died in 1979 when she was just four years old, when he had a heart attack after playing a game of football.
In recent weeks, Jill has revealed she has found love again, saying she met her new partner Ian ‘at the perfect time’ after thinking she’d never meet anyone again.
And in a new interview, she’s spoken about ‘deserving to be happy’ and enjoying her new romance.
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Appearing on The One Show on Wednesday, Jill shared: ‘When you lose a partner, a romantic relationship, it can sometimes feel like betrayal if you move on.
Jill won Strictly Come Dancing in 2004 (Picture: PA)
‘It’s not, you absolutely are allowed to be happy again, but I think if you do the processing and the healing and do the work, you can go into another relationship and be happy again,
‘But if you haven’t done that work, there will always be a part of you somewhere else.’
The Byker Grove actress went on: ‘I fortunately feel that I do deserve to be happy and I do feel happy, and it’s really nice to be in love again.’
Talking about her grief over the last seven years after the death of her partner, and processing the death of her father too, Jill added: ‘Grief is so scary and so isolating, and there’s a tendency to want to lock yourself away.’
The BBC actress opened up about grief (Picture: BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Denis Guyenon)
She added that she’s now written her book to share how she coped and learnt from her grief for people in similar situations, saying: ‘I just wanted to put them out there in a book and say to anyone that’s struggling, it’s okay, I get it, and these are the things I’ve learnt.’
About her new romance, Jill had previously told Prima Magazine: ‘It sounds so cheesy, but I think Ian and I met at the perfect time.
‘After Matt died, I didn’t know if I’d ever meet anyone again, but Ian is my cheerleader – I know I’ve met somebody who I love and who loves me.’
The One Show airs weekdays from 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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