Shameless star Tina Malone has said her war hero husband Paul Malone was driven to suicide after his battle with PTSD.
Paul, 41, died two months ago, on March 13, after what the actress confirmed was a long battle with his mental health.
Tina previously revealed how her ‘world fell apart’ after her husband of 13 years died – and says she is speaking out about how he died in the name of ‘transparency’ and to encourage conversations around supporting veterans.
She has revealed he has turned to drink and drugs in a bid to cope with his time in the army – and believes he is now ‘in a better place’.
Brookside actress Tina, 61, said this evening: ‘I haven’t spoken about this publicly until now. It’s the first time I say it and confirm it. Paul committed suicide. I believe in transparency.’
Paul was a former member of the 22nd Regiment of the Cheshires and served in Northern Ireland, Belize, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Falklands – where he was nicknamed Chevy by fellow squaddies because of his surname, after the comedian.
Tina Malone has confirmed her husband committed suicide and says she is speaking out in the name of ‘transparency’ and encouraging others to talk about mental health
Tina with husband Paul in 2015. She said he turned to drink and drugs in an attempt to cope with his poor mental health after serving in the army
Paul (pictured during his time with the Cheshire Regiment) served all over the world – including in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Falklands
The couple shared one daughter together named Flame, now 11, whom Tina gave birth to in 2013 after IVF, when she was 50 years old (all pictured together in 2014)
She wrote on Twitter: ‘Six weeks ago today was the worst day of my entire life, my world fell apart, my husband Paul is dead but he lives in my heart forever x’
But Tina said he often talked about the military when he was drunk — and she encouraged him to get help dealing with what he saw while serving his country.
Paul – with whom she had daughter Flame, now 11, through IVF, was eventually diagnosed with PTSD three years ago.
Tina said: ‘When he got drunk he would wander around the army and I would say to him, ‘You have depression, you have emotional problems because of what you have seen’. But he would wipe it away. He said, ‘How can I get a job if I have one?’
She and Paul met at a bootcamp event where he was a personal trainer after her appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.
But their relationship was problematic in 2017 Tina was arrested and cautioned for cocaine possession – getting fired from a pantomime in the process – while Paul lost his job caring for violent teenagers.
The couple faced bankruptcy and Tina says his mental health soared during this period, with him taking medication and cocaine in an attempt to cope before attempting to commit suicide.
He was admitted to psychiatric care and received help from a veterans charity, but Tina said he would experience mood swings.
Eventually, Tina said, Paul “couldn’t fight anymore.” After making food for Flame, he kissed Tina, went outside – and was dead hours later.
“He felt lost, he felt useless,” she said.
Tina’s comments, reported by the mirrorcomes as she plans to launch a new charity in his name, Paul’s Flame, to help people in times of crisis.
She added: “This is a man who served his country. The only way I can get through it is to fight for change, address the issues veterans and soldiers face, and try to help others.”
Last year, statistics on suicides among British military veterans were published for the first time, exposing the mental health crisis our soldiers face as they retire from service and attempt to return to civilian life.
According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2021 – the latest figures available – suicides by men aged 35 to 44 were almost twice as high among veterans as non-veterans, at 33.5 per 100,000, compared to 18.8.
Tina previously admitted she is ‘broken’ following the death of her husband Paul, after revealing the last conversation they had on the day he died.
In an update on social media, she responded to fans who had left her “kind messages” and shared their own personal stories of loss
Tina Malone said in a heartbreaking post on Wednesday that her husband Paul Chase’s death was the ‘worst day of her entire life’ (seen in 2014)
Tina Malone and Paul Chase pictured together in 2017. She says his death left her ‘bereaved’
Tina took to her social media this week to admit that the loss of her husband has left her ‘bereaved’.
In a heartbreaking post, she detailed Paul’s final hours before he died, revealing he made breakfast for their daughter and kissed Tina goodbye.
She tweeted: ‘Four weeks ago at 4pm today my husband made scrambled eggs, bacon, beans, sausages for Flame, kissed me and said goodbye….
‘Ten hours later he was dead, I’m broken, so bereft.’
Paul was buried two weeks ago as a crowd of mourners gathered outside Tina’s home in Liverpool, where she joined them and received hugs and comfort from friends and relatives.
Many were seen wiping their eyes as fellow veterans helped carry Paul’s coffin to his hearse, which was draped in a flag with his Cheshire Regiment cap on it.
The Cheshire Regiment Association, of which Paul was a member, shared photos of the former officer in his military uniform, in honor of the man they affectionately called ‘Chevy’.
Friends of the regiment came in droves to his funeral, with many in the group wearing regimental ties and some of his pallbearers proudly displaying their medals.
A statement on Facebook read: ‘We have received the very sad news that Paul ‘Chevy’ Chase passed away yesterday at the age of 42. Paul was married to actress Tina Malone.
‘RIP Paul. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this sad time.”
Tina married Paul, who is 19 years her junior, in 2010 and they were married for nine years before briefly splitting in 2019 – getting back together just months later in February 2020.
After their 2020 reunion, the soap star said their relationship was back to normal and that their “love never faded.”
She told Closer magazine at the time: “The love has never gone away, we are working on things now, our problems were exacerbated by depression, but I have learned that in difficult times you have to work together and not apart.”