Richard E Grant has shared a video reflecting on the fifth anniversary of the death of his wife, Joan Washington.
A respected dialect coach who worked with a number of high-profile actors, Washington died on 2 September 2021, having been diagnosed with lung cancer the previous year. Grant and Washington had been married for 35 years at the time of her death.
Speaking in a video on Instagram this week, Grant delivered an emotional tribute to his late partner.
“Five years ago today, my beloved wife Joan died at 7:30 in the evening, and we were holding each other’s hands, and she drew her last breath,” the 69-year-old said. “And, in one sense, five years seems incredibly long and, simultaneously, the blink of an eye.
“Reflecting back on what it’s like to grieve somebody, I feel unbelievable gratitude that I had almost four decades with her, because more than anybody in the whole world that I have ever met, she got me. I got her, and that seems to be the kind of holy grail gift that I never anticipated I would find in my life. I sure did with her.”
The couple shared one daughter together, Olivia, who recently gave birth to a granddaughter.
open image in gallery“Our daughter, you know, had a baby 12 weeks ago,” Grant continued in the video. “I would love more than anything for her to have held our grandchild, but that’s not to be.
“But being in this cottage where she died, I’m surrounded by everything that we made together and collected. So, even though I’m totally physically alone here, her life is here as though she might be in the next room. In a sense, she is, and always will be.”
open image in galleryGrant, who rose to fame as one of the leads of the cult 1987 British comedy Withnail & I, added that people had been encouraging him to “move on” and try to “meet someone new” in the wake of Washington’s death, but that he was still unable to.
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“So, without sounding morbid, I want to celebrate her fifth anniversary,” he said. “Happy anniversary.”
A number of Grant’s friends shared responses to the post on Instagram, including the actor Glenn Close, who wrote: “I have come to believe that if one finds a true soulmate and partner, that is the greatest gift life can offer.
“I am so deeply moved by the way you talk about Joan and all you have written and shared with us about her–there is boundless joy and love in your grief. Happy Anniversary to you both.”
Melissa McCarthy, who starred with Grant in the 2018 film Can You Ever Forgive Me?, wrote: “I’ve never met such a big personality in a glorious way …meaning you….until I meet Joan…and then you made even more sense…and I loved you, my friend , from the start. But you two together made music. Xoxooxox.”
Grant recently told of how he permanently cut friends out of his life over how they handled Joan’s death, stating that he would never forgive those who kept their distance while he was grieving.