Vinnie Jones recalls finding letter from late wife Tanya after her death from cancer

‘Don’t grieve, I’ll be waiting for you’

Vinnie Jones has recalled finding a letter written by his late wife, Tanya, in which she told her family not to grieve her death.

On Saturday 6 July, Tanya passed away at the age of 53 in Los Angeles following a long illness.

Three months after her death, Vinnie has appeared on Good Morning Britain where he opened up about his grief and how his daughter, Kaley, received a letter from Tanya.

“We found a letter from Tans to Kaley that kind of made us strong, saying, ‘Don’t grieve, I’ll be waiting for you.’ I believe that,” the former footballer-turned-actor said.

“I’ve got something to look forward to. If you turn a negative into a positive... and she’s waiting. So that’s what you deal with.”

Vinnie added that the letter made his daughter “very strong”.

“She’s now taking up the reigns, you know,” he said, as he wiped a tear from his eye.

The former Welsh national football team captain said he received a card from Tanya that read: “Vin, tomorrow something beautiful will happen”.

During his interview with Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, Vinnie also spoke about the difficulty of adjusting to life after Tanya’s death.

“Everybody’s life goes on,” he stated.

“You’re looking round and you go this is the biggest tragedy of your life, and people are still going to work, they’re still coming home from work, they’re still queuing up for Starbucks. And the enormity of it all, it’s just heavy.”

Several Good Morning Britain viewers expressed messages of support for Vinnie on Twitter.

“Such a moving interview. Thank you Vinnie, your openness and honesty allows us all to remember what is most important in life, Love, family, friends,” one person wrote.

“My dad is going through pancreatic cancer and I’m all over the place with my emotions,” someone else commented.

“Seeing Vinnie today just shows you cancer doesn’t just attack people that have it, but also the people that live through the aftermath of someone passing away with it.”