Vinnie Jones and girlfriend Emma Ford appear to be going from strength to strength, so much so, it seems, that she’s “had a chat” with his late wife Tanya to assure her she’ll look after the football hardman.
Vinnie’s wife of 25 years, Tanya, died in 2019, six years after receiving a cancer diagnosis. Five years later, he still talks of his feelings of guilt about taking the “next step” with Emma.
However, he has also shared how happy he is with his “spiritual” new love – especially since she ‘spoke’ to his beloved Tanya.
Vinnie Jones on girlfriend Emma’s ‘chat’ with Tanya
Vinnie was pleasantly surprised when his new girlfriend Emma said she’d “had a chat” with his late wife Tanya.
The star told The Sun: “Having Emma alongside me, she’s fantastic. She is spiritual, and she is sober, and she told me something… ‘I’ve had a chat with Tanz and I’ve told her I’m going to look after you.’ That meant a lot to me. And she has helped me, she’s great fun, I haven’t got my heavy boots on any more. I’ve got my trainers on now and we’re jogging.
There are three of us in this relationship because there will always be Tanya and that’s fact.
“With Emma we sort of came along in each other’s lives, but there are three of us in this relationship because there will always be Tanya and that’s fact. The next step you are always feeling guilty about. But I’m sure she’s looking down on me. We had 30 fantastic years, embrace that. You never conquer it,” he said.
Tanya’s death
Tanya was diagnosed with melanoma, a type of skin cancer, that spread to her lungs and brain. She had previously battled cervical cancer twice. She was aged just 53 when she died.
Vinnie, who stopped playing professional football in 1999, bought his country estate in rural West Sussex in 2022, following Tanya’s death. He hired Emma as his PA in the same year, and the rest, as they say… is history.
The revival of the land and farm buildings is at the heart of his Discovery+ show, Vinnie Jones: In the Country. Series two starts next week. And it was during the first season that he fell for Emma, who he affectionately calls Blondie.
“I didn’t think I would be in a new relationship. I think I was naive to think I would be on my own for the rest of my life – I certainly thought it, and that’s what I wanted. Whereas actually your best mates will say: ‘It’s about you. If you want to be with Emma, you be with her, because actually she’s really good for you Vin.'”
He added that Emma “kind of got me back on my horse”, commenting that after they got together he started to come out of his “sorrow, pain and grief” after losing Tanya.
Vinnie Jones first spoke about his relationship with girlfriend Emma in April 2024. During an interview, Vinnie spoke candidly about “moving forwards”.
“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,” he said.
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