The wife of Sir Tom Jones sadly passed away eight years ago. And as Tom Jones has become a break-out star of The Voice UK, many viewers have been left wondering what happened to his wife of 59 years.
So what did happen to Melinda Trenchard?
How did Tom Jones meet his wife Melinda?
Tom Jones and his wife Melinda Trenchard were childhood sweethearts.
They began dating in their hometown of Pontypridd in Wales.
He said that she first caught his eye when he saw her playing marbles.
Speaking to Radio 2 he recalled their first meeting as: “I remember her playing marbles and I thought, ‘My God, what great legs she’s got’.
“And then she stood up and she was as pretty in the face as her legs were.
“Then we started playing kiss-chase. I felt different when I kissed her, and she felt the same way.
“We started dancing together when we were 15. She would look great. She was the best-looking girl around there and we got together. It was magic.”
The couple married age just 16 or 17, and welcomed their only child together, son Mark Woodward, that same year.
How old was Tom Jones’ wife when she died?
Tom Jones’ wife died aged 75 on April 10, 2016.
What did Melinda Trenchard die from?
Melinda Trenchard, the late wife of Tom Jones, died from lung cancer in 2016.
What has Tom Jones said about his wife?
Tom Jones has spoken lovingly of his wife many a time over the years.
However, he has said that he partly blames her death on himself.
He says he wish he had urged her to see a doctor sooner than she had.
Speaking to The Mirror, Sir Tom says he reflected on the lyrics to her favourite song – Bob Dylan’s What Good Am I?
The lyrics include: “What good am I, if I’m like all the rest? If I just turn away, when I see how you’re dressed? If I shut myself off, so I can’t hear you cry?”
He went on to tell the paper: “I was reading into the lyrics, thinking: ‘Jesus Christ, was I partly to blame? Should I have woken up before? You start to think: ‘What if I had forced her to go to the doctors?'”
Was she really a recluse?
Melinda is believed to have been a recluse for many years. She shunned the spotlight and was rarely photographed in public with her husband.
She is believed to have spent the last few decades of her life living between their sprawling London or Los Angeles mansions.
It is unclear why she was so reclusive, but some have speculated that it was due to Tom Jones’ numerous affairs.
Did Tom Jones cheat?
The crooner has admitted to sleeping with hundreds of women over the years.
Read more: Viewers demand Tom Jones and Anne-Marie duet
He also fathered a son, Jonathan Berkery, in 1987 with American model Katherine Berkery, who was then just 24.
Although he paid financial support toward his upbringing, he has never met or spoken to Jonathan.
Vernon Hopkins, from The Squires, a former bandmate of Tom’s, told Express.co.uk that his affairs actually did upset Melinda.
He claimed: “She became recluse, smoking and drinking excessively, she lost her spark, let herself go and lost her good looks, according to Tom.”
Meanwhile, he claimed she believed his affairs were “all her fault”.
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