Entertainment
‘Love goes on’: Richard E Grant marks posthumous 35th wedding anniversary with late wife Joan Washington
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Richard E Grant shared an emotional video on what would have been his 35th wedding anniversary with late wife Joan Washington.
Joan, an acclaimed dialect coach who worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, died on September 2 at the age of 71, after battling stage four lung cancer.
Richard, 64, married Joan on November 1 1986, and in a heartbreaking video, the Withnail & I star said that he was focusing on the fact that ‘love goes on’ as he struggles with the loss of his face.
Tearing up, the actor said: ‘Today is our posthumous 35th wedding anniversary. What’s so incomprehensible is that we can never touch or talk to one another ever again. We just have to count on the feeling that the love goes on.’
He captioned the video: ‘I married Joan Washington 35 years ago today. Best decision I’ve ever made. We were together for 38 years and @OliviaGranted is the Gift of a Human that we are blessed with.’
Fans and friends sent their love, including actress Emma Kennedy, who tweeted: ‘All the love to you Richard.’
Richard and Joan were together for 38 years (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Old Vic Theatre)
Richard confirmed his wife’s death on Twitter on September 3, 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 & 38 together. To be truly known and seen by you, is your immeasurable gift. Do not forget us, sweet Monkee-mine.’
He later wrote an essay for the Daily Mail, in which he confirmed that Joan had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer around Christmas 2020.
The Everybody’s Talking About Jamie star wrote: ‘It’s been my privilege to be by your side, sharing our last eight months together, enabling us to say everything we possibly wanted and needed to, so that when you asked Olivia and me two weeks ago “to let me go”, we unequivocally said “yes”.
‘Olivia and I are profoundly grateful for everything that you’ve gifted us with, and we’re relieved that you no longer have to struggle for breath.
Richard and Joan share a daughter, Olivia (Picture: Jeff Moore/SplashNews.com)
‘Our loss is incalculable. Your love is immeasurable. The depth of our grief is mirrored by the magnitude of our love. Goodbye Monkee-mine. Do not forget us.’
Richard met voice and dialect coach Joan when she was teaching an accent session at an acting school in December 1982.
They got married in 1986 and Richard said that he never considered marriage until he met Joan, believing it to be ‘unnecessary’.
He previously told the Independent: ‘Before I got married, I didn’t hold any store by it.
‘My parents were divorced when I was 11 and it made such a profound impression on my life that I suppose I thought that by not getting married, you could avoid your life being carved in two. But that changed.’
Joan was a successful dialect coach (Picture: PA)
While Joan had been put off marriage after getting divorced, she happily accepted when the star popped the question after realising he wanted to commit to her while spending six weeks away from his girlfriend.
The couple went on to welcome a daughter together, Olivia, 31, while Richard is also stepfather to Joan’s son Tom, 45, from her first marriage.
Joan had suffered three miscarriages in their journey to becoming parents together, and sadly, Richard and Joan’s first child Tiffany died shortly after she was born prematurely.
They referred to Olivia as their ‘miracle baby’.
More: Celebrity Deaths
Following her mother’s death, Olivia tweeted: ‘I wasn’t prepared for the exhaustion that comes with grief. Just doing basic things- social interactions with people I love, concentration, basic tasks take their toll in ways I didn’t anticipate. After my first day back in the office, I dialled my mum’s number…
‘It’s inconceivable we’ve had our last conversation, joke, fight, I’ve asked the last piece of advice. So many people are going through so much. Be kind, be thoughtful & take that breather before you snap. The biggest gift is that her illness made me tell her in no uncertain terms how much I loved her and how much I admired her. Thinking of all the people who’ve recently lost someone and who did & didn’t get that chance. Sending love and strength. Kindness is the greatest gift.’
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