FOOTIE hardman Vinnie Jones has opened up on finding love again, saying: “I never thought this would happen.”
The midfielder-turned-actor, 59, is dating 47-year-old script consultant Emma Ford — five years after the death of his wife Tanya from skin cancer.
He had vowed that he would spend the rest of his days single — before meeting Emma on his In The Country reality TV show.
The former Wimbledon star, who lives on a West Sussex farm, said: “You think and say a lot of things when the tragedy first happens.
“I didn’t say I would never have a girlfriend again but I didn’t think I would at the time.
“As time goes on you move centimetres forward. Different things come to life again in your body and your soul and your heart.
“After she died, I thought, ‘I’m done’.
“I never thought this would happen.”
Vinnie and Tanya had been married for 25 years when she died aged 53.
The Gentlemen actor added: “I was on my own after the funeral, everybody had gone.
“The calls dried up. They had nothing to say. That’s when it got lonely.”
