Losing a loved one is never easy, and Reverend Richard Coles has been open and honest about the subject of bereavement.
The Strictly Come Dancing star’s partner, David Oldham, died in December 2019, aged 42, and his death was described as “utterly unexpected” by Coles.
Since his loss, Reverend Richard Coles has always been honest about grief, and even wrote a book on it called “The Madness of Grief: A Memoir of Love and Loss”.
Speaking to the Radio Times about bereavement, he said: “I’m not particularly bothered about death. Dying is another matter. I hope I get a relatively swift and painless one, of course.
“Bereavement is different, I’ve been around bereaved people a lot, but when my partner David died three things struck me.
“One you’re exhausted because you’ve been up often for days. Two, you go mad. You don’t realise you’re mad though because you still walk the dogs. But you are mad.
"Three, I wondered if my faith would be shaken. The answer was no."
In his new book, Richard explains that he didn’t want his partner's death from alcoholism to affect how people remembered him.
Although his book is not strictly a self help book on death and loss, it’s still an open and honest account of grief.
During his time as a reverend, it was natural for Richard to have had dealings with death, but never bereavement personally.
When describing the day his partner David died to the Radio Times, he said: “I was mad and went to get L’Occitane hand cream for the nurses.
“I was buying lavish amounts of shea butter hand cream and a woman said to me 'no one will ever be as nice to you again as they are now, so make the most of it.'”
David Coles passed away two years ago on December 17, and Richard tweeted last week: “RIP David Coles, died two years ago this night. Loved, missed; I still can’t work the central heating.
“Here he is doing roly polys at Milton Keynes shopping centre because I dared him.”
Food writer Nigella Lawson responded: “Sending so much love to you.”
Another Twitter user said: “Hope you're ok, the wee small hours are often the worst.
“What a wonderful photo. Just finished your book, how profoundly important it is that as a society we become more open to discuss the effects of grief - which comes for us all, thank you for writing it.”
