Vinnie Jones speaks about his ‘heavy grief’ for first time since death of beloved wife Tanya
VINNIE Jones opened up about the death of his beloved wife Tanya for the first time today, telling fans they had helped ease his "heavy grief".
Mum-of-two Tanya, 53, died in July at the family’s Los Angeles home with the ex-footballer by her side after battling cancer for six years.
Posting on Twitter, actor and football legend Vinnie thanked followers who had consoled him in the wake of the tragedy.
He wrote: "THANKYOU to each and every one of you for your kind thoughts and kind words through this devastating time you have all helped us enormously with this heavy grief, Vinnie."
The 54-year-old also posted a picture of him and Tanya when they were younger alongside the message.
Vinnie revealed in 2013 that they were both suffering from melanoma – the most serious type of skin cancer.
Tanya - who had an emergency heart transplant at the age of 21 – had already been treated twice for cervical cancer.
Vinnie had found a lump under his eye, and a check-up revealed it was a malignant melanoma, but then Tanya developed the same illness.
The pair had been together for 25 years, after marrying in 1994.
Last month, Gone In 60 Seconds actor Vinnie returned to work on the celebrity version of The X Factor in Hollywood.
The Sun revealed that the star met production staff and fellow competitors days after Tanya's death - surprising producers who thought he would pull out.
A source explained: "Obviously most of the team expected a phone call saying he wouldn’t be involved any more.
“But instead he came along and made it clear he wants to throw himself straight into this project.
“It must be incredibly tough for him right now so the producers gave him the option to delay for as long as he wants.
“But he’s keen to plough on — perhaps something to focus on will help him.”
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