Richard E. Grant posts video on fifth anniversary of wife Joan Washington’s death

# What happened

Richard E. Grant posted an emotional video on Instagram to mark the fifth anniversary of his wife Joan Washington's death. Washington, a respected dialect coach, died on 2 September 2021 after being diagnosed with lung cancer the year before. In the video Grant, 69, described the moment she drew her last breath and reflected on what grieving has felt like for him.

# What Grant said

Grant said: "Five years ago today, my beloved wife Joan died at 7:30 in the evening, and we were holding each other's hands, and she drew her last breath." He described the passage of time as both long and fleeting and expressed "unbelievable gratitude" for having spent almost four decades with her. He added, "more than anybody in the whole world that I have ever met, she got me. I got her."

He also spoke about wanting her to have met a new grandchild: their daughter Olivia recently gave birth 12 weeks earlier, and Grant said he would have loved for Joan to have held the baby. Grant lives in the cottage where Joan died and said he feels surrounded by the life they built together: "even though I'm totally physically alone here, her life is here as though she might be in the next room. In a sense, she is, and always will be."

Grant acknowledged people had encouraged him to "move on" and meet someone new, but said he has been unable to do so. He closed the video by calling it a celebration of her anniversary, saying simply, "Happy anniversary."

# Wider context and reactions

# Why this matters

# Bottom line

Grant used a social post to mark the anniversary in measured, personal terms: he remembers the moment of Joan's death, counts his long partnership as a rare gift, notes the presence of her memory in their home, and resists pressure to form a new romantic relationship. Friends and colleagues responded publicly with sympathy and recollections of the couple.