Richard E Grant has revealed he ‘edited’ friends out of his life after the death of his beloved wife of 35 years, Joan Washington.
The actor boasts an impressive social circle and shared a picture from a star-studded dinner he hosted at his west London home over the weekend.
Fans hailed Richard’s 69th birthday celebrations their ‘fantasy dinner guestlist’, with stars including Christine Baranski, Steve Martin, Sir Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Short showing up to party alongside his daughter Olivia and son Henry.
But in a new interview, Richard has explained how his friendship group shrunk after Joan passed away.
Dialect coach Joan died in 2021 aged 74, just eight months after being diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer two days before Christmas.
He was heartbroken that some of his so-called pals were crossing the street to avoid an awkward conversation, rather than provide him comfort after losing his wife.
Five years on, Richard says he can’t forgive them as he told The Sunday Times: ‘I’m very unequivocal, black and white, all or nothing. I’ve tried to go for the grey areas but it’s not succeeded for very long.
Richard E Grant has revealed he ‘edited’ friends out of his life after the death of his beloved wife of 35 years, Joan Washington
Stars including Christine Baranski, Steve Martin, Sir Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Short showing up to party alongside his daughter Olivia and son Henry
‘There are people that have been edited out of my life and I will never see them again. If I had done that to them, I wouldn’t be able to look them in the face. People do everything to avoid talking about death.’
When the interviewer suggested these people might have good intentions, Richard thought about before answering: ‘No, portcullis down. Goodbye.’
Richard added he has learnt to navigate his way around grief, but there isn’t a day he doesn’t wake up and remember what has happened.
The actor said he finds it ‘impossible’ to get his head around the fact Joan will never hold their grandchild. In June, their daughter Olivia gave birth to a baby boy.
He said: ‘I’ve felt that overwhelming thing that you’re part of the cycle of life. You’ve gone through death and now there’s a birth. I instantly thought, how many Christmases will I have to share with the grandchild? That’s the thing that galvanises you — how many years of life you have left.’
Richard and Joan met in 1982 at the Actors Centre in Covent Garden, where she was teaching. She was ten years his senior and at the top of her profession, while he was a struggling young actor newly arrived from Swaziland, now Eswatini.
The couple married in 1986 and went on to have their daughter, Olivia.
In a new interview, Richard revealed his friendship group became a lot smaller after Joan passed away (pictured with Joan and his daughter Olivia in 2019)
The actor said he finds it ‘impossible’ to get his head around the fact Joan will never hold their grandchild. In June, their daughter Olivia gave birth to a baby boy
Their journey to parenthood was not an easy one. The couple endured the heartbreak of losing their first child together, who died shortly after birth, and Joan suffered multiple miscarriages.
But she was determined they would keep trying – and Olivia’s arrival was the gift that completed their family.
When Joan died in 2021, Richard announced her death with a moving video of the pair dancing together, writing at the time of his love for the ‘Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia’.
In the years since, the actor has been remarkably candid about his grief. He has spoken of crying every single day, of writing to Joan every night, and of carrying on what he calls an ‘ongoing silent conversation’ with the woman he describes as the love of his life.
