Vinnie Jones reveals late wife Tanya inspired his sobriety

Former footballer and actor Vinnie Jones has revealed that his late wife Tanya was the main reason he conquered his alcohol addiction.

The 61-year-old star said he hated seeing her disappointment amid the fallout from his heavy drinking, explaining that the look in her eyes was more punishment than any judge could ever dish out.

Jones, who built a reputation as a football hardman for Wimbledon and Chelsea before starring in Hollywood films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, had a well-documented struggle with booze during his sports career and early acting years, frequently finding himself embroiled in drunken brawls and trouble with the law.

Recalling the fallout from a particular bar brawl in which he woke up "chained to the bed" with "68 stitches in my head," Jones told The Telegraph of "real judge" Tanya: "The police and jail didn’t bother me. My punishment was Tan’s disappointment. I could see it in her eyes. She’d say: 'We can’t keep doing this'."

Jones first met Tanya as his childhood next-door neighbour before the pair tied the knot in 1994, when he became a stepfather to her daughter Kayley.

Support through grief and new beginnings

Tragedy struck in 2013 when Tanya was diagnosed with skin cancer. She passed away six years later in 2019 at the age of 53 after the disease spread to her brain.

Seven years after her death, Jones opened up about how he had to "get on" with his grief following her tragic passing, while sharing his "luck" at having moved on with his new partner, Emma Ford.

Discussing how he shared tough times with his co-star and right-hand man Paul Worby on his now-defunct Discovery+ series Vinnie Jones in the Country, Jones explained that they were tough together after realising death is inevitable.

Opening up about the losses in his life, Jones said: "My mum dies, then my wife dies, you know? We’re big, hairy-a**e blokes, and we got to f***ing get on with it. Cancer, grief, mental health… somehow it’s all going to happen to all of us."

Finding love again with Emma Ford

Jones had previously stated back in 2019 that he would "never be with anyone else" following Tanya's death. However, reflecting on his new romance, he admitted "we can talk too soon."

The couple first met in 2022 when Jones hired Ford to work as his personal assistant for his television show, before going public with their relationship in 2024.

Ford, a former PA to Mick Jones of punk band The Clash who also worked as a showbiz reporter on Hollywood red carpets, returned to the UK after spending years working and partying hard in Los Angeles.

The pair were brought together by the pandemic and Jones's farm in West Sussex. Ford went on to become a star of the Discovery+ documentary series detailing his new rural lifestyle.

Giving an insight into their relationship, Jones said: "Tanya was a beautiful soul, and so is Emma. Good-looking too! I’m incredibly lucky to have met her, but she’d say the universe brought us together."

A promise to a late wife

Last year, the television star revealed that Ford had promised Tanya she would "look after him," acknowledging that his late wife would not have wanted him to be left alone.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Jones recalled: "She said to me that she had had a chat with Tanz and said, 'I'm going to look after him for you'. That was kind of a defining moment for me."

Jones added that Tanya would have wanted him to find happiness again, telling the publication: "I'm at peace because does she want you to be on your own? No, because you're not going to be happy."

Reflecting on the ongoing nature of loss in a 2024 interview with the Mirror, Jones acknowledged: "You know, after four months, four years, five years, 10 years, you just keep moving forwards, the grief is always going to be in there."