Martine McCutcheon reflected on a “difficult” 2022 as she ringed in the New Year with close friends and husband Jack McManus.
The Love Actually star, 46, shared a late New Year’s Eve post on Tuesday, sharing videos and photos of her celebrations, thanking her friends for getting her and her man out of the house.
In her post, Martine called last year her “most difficult year yet” and said she was “ready for the next chapter” after the tragic death of her brother LJ at the age of 31.
‘2022 was my toughest year yet’: Martine McCutcheon thanked friends Tuesday for getting her and her husband out of the house for New Year’s Eve and said she is ‘ready for the next chapter’ after the tragic death of his brother, 31
‘By the way… Happy belated new year everyone! May 2023 be your best year! 2022 was my hardest year yet… But I am so ready for the next chapter of my life story,” her post began.
Martine and singer Jack, 38, saw The Brand New Heavies play at a concert.
“We went to see one of my favorite bands at one of the best legendary music venues in the world for the new year and it was magical…I was meant to go to that concert for sure,” she said.
So sad: It comes after the actress lost her brother LJ, who had a mild form of special needs, at the age of 31 late last year.
Night Out: Martine and singer Jack, 38, saw The Brand New Heavies play at a concert. In the photo with Simón Bartolomé
‘It was so good to see my old friend Simon Bartholomew from the band and they’re still SO good! In the words of the Brand New Heavies, ”You are the universe and there is nothing you cannot do, if you conceive it, you can achieve it, that’s why I believe in you. Yes I believe it!”.
She added: ‘Thank you for taking us out and for being everyone’s best friends. We will never forget that night!
At night, Martine dazzled in a sparkly minidress while out on the town.
Embellished: In the evening, Martine stunned in a sparkly minidress while out on the town
‘Thank you for taking us out and for being everyone’s best friends. We will never forget that night! she said
‘By the way… Happy belated new year everyone! May 2023 be your best year! 2022 was my hardest year yet… But I’m so ready for the next chapter of my life story,” her post began.
It comes after the actress lost her brother LJ, who had a mild form of special needs, at the age of 31 late last year.
In October, he told his fans to “hug each other tighter” in a thoughtful post after his brother Laurence John died at the age of 31 with no medical explanation.
‘A Saturday of blue sky and sun. Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Hug each other tighter and make memories,” she wrote at the time.
She said the website designer was to marry his fiancée Jay Eaton, 49, within a month and that Martine, who was to be the bridesmaid, had seen her brother only days before he died.
Special Bond: Martine shared this Instagram photo with her brother in 2013, writing about how much she loved him — she was only 15 when he was born.
Thoughtful: In October, he told his fans to “hug each other tighter” in a thoughtful post following the death of his brother LJ, who died at the age of 31 with no medical explanation.
‘My heart is forever broken, my little brother, my gentle giant, sadly passed away suddenly 2 weeks ago. He was 31 years old.
“There is no medical explanation as to why we lost him so soon, and as we investigate further, we have to accept that nothing will bring our son back to us.”
‘LJ (Laurence John) was born when I was 15 years old and from the moment I first held him in my arms, I was extremely proud and fiercely protective of him. He was quite a character!
“He made us all laugh and loved nothing more than making a plan, having a great playlist, bringing people together and just generally having a laugh.”
He also thanked fans for their support after his death.
“Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing well, it’s my first time on Instagram since I shared my post about the loss of my brother a couple of weeks ago.”
‘My heart is forever broken’: Martine’s revealed the devastating news of LJ’s mysterious death in a long post, writing: ‘LJ fell in love and is getting married next month’
“First of all thank you so much for the outpouring of love, it means a lot to my family.”
‘Today was my first day back at work, I didn’t know if I could do it or not, I was nervous, a bit of filming and a meeting and I’m so glad I did.
She continued: “I know my brother would want me to keep going and he was very proud of me and the fact that I liked to inspire people and make them feel good and give them a little bit of magic where I could.”
I felt it with me and I did it the first day. I did it.’
Alongside the emotional clip, he wrote: ‘Thank you for your support. Coming back to it little by little. I know LJ would want me to continue.’
“He was proud of me and understood why I do what I do. Grief is a strange old thing and there’s no one way to navigate it, but it felt good to put in some work. He was nervous but I did it.
Carrying on: Martine McCutcheon recently revealed that she had returned to work following the sudden death of her brother LJ and said that he would want her to “carry on”