Vinnie Jones honours late wife Tanya with sweet tribute two years after her death

Vinnie Jones shared a series of touching photos of his late wife Tanya on Wednesday and wished her a ‘happy birthday,’ two years after her passing. 

The footballer turned actor, 56, tied the knot with Tanya in 1994, but she tragically passed away in July 2019 following a six year battle with cancer.  

Vinnie, who has candidly discussed his ongoing grief following her death, shared the sweet throwback snaps to Instagram including one from their wedding day.

In a natural and effortless photo, the young Tanya looked stunning as her chocolate locks tumbled down and she gave a radiant smile.  

In a more recent snap of his late wife, Tanya rocked another white dress and grinned from ear to ear. 

‘A happy birthday to a beautiful girl [praying hand and heart emoji],’ Vinnie captioned the upload. 

His celebrity pals including Wayne Bridge, Jamie Redknapp and Robbie Keane all left hearts on the post to show their support. 

Just a few months earlier, Vinnie revealed he still speaks to his late wife after her passing at the age of 53. 

The former footballer, 55, told the Daily Star: ‘Every morning, I get up, make my bed and have a little chat with Tan about what I’m doing and how much I miss her. Even now it’s one day at a time.’

He opened up to the publication about how he still struggles greatly with losing his beloved partner – who died in their home in Los Angeles.

Vinnie has since moved out of that home and now lives in a home near to his golf club friends at Toluca Lake, adding that he leans on his pals for emotional support.

He said: ‘I see mental health as the hub of a wheel, with lots of spokes. Each spoke represents a different type of issue and mine just happens to be grief. I’m ­coping with the help of my friends.

‘I went away with the boys for a quiet break in Canada this summer. We did a bit of fishing and talked. Some of them have been through a lot with alcoholism, something I have struggled with, and they gave me good advice. It was a nice environment to be in.’

In September, Vinnie revealed he believes a white light he saw on the night Tanya died may have been a message from her. 

In his book, Lost Without You: Loving And Losing Tanya, Vinnie recalled how he witnessed a strange light hovering above his home and said he still struggles to explain it.  

He said: ‘The night Tans died we were all sitting outside in the back garden… it was around midnight, a still, overcast night, no moonlight.

‘One by one, people were heading inside to bed, and I told them I’d be in in a little while. I wanted to smoke and watch the darkness and be alone.

‘As I sat there, I noticed above me a white light. I knew it couldn’t be a star because of the cloud cover, but there it was – a simple white light above me.’

Vinnie knew that when people lose someone they love they can start to look for signs of them and insisted he ‘never believed in any of that stuff’.  

However, he was sure the white light was real and also knew that it was not a star or a helicopter as it was too low.  

He said: ‘I don’t know why, but in my grief and desperation I said to the light, “Is that you, babe?”

‘The light shone above me; it didn’t waver, or change. Was it Tans? There was only one way to find out. I thought about all the times she’d say, “Where’s my kiss?” and I’d throw her one to catch.

‘So that’s what I did, right there in that dark ­garden – I threw one last kiss up to the white light above me.

‘Suddenly, the light swerved, and dipped, and hovered, and then it flew – zoom! – it flew and swerved and then it disappeared away from me in that garden, and left me, once again alone.’ 

Vinnie added that he has checked and re-checked the weather forecast for that night since and it was overcast in Los Angeles, with the sun not appearing until midday the following day.   

Vinnie and Tanya met in childhood before exchanging vows in 1994, with the actor admitting on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories that he will never remarry. 

When asked whether he could ever face marrying again, Vinnie said: ‘I think that’s an impossible question to answer but if you asked me if I would get married again that would be an impossibility, she wouldn’t want that.

‘There won’t be another marriage Piers I can tell you that. It was the perfect one and done for me.’ 

If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org