Telly priest Reverend Richard Coles has revealed he’s retiring in April, two years after the death of his partner Rev David Coles from alcohol addiction.
The 59-year-old told his 448,000 Twitter followers on Tuesday that he was getting ‘#demob’ ahead of stopping parish duties in the spring.
Rev Coles lost his partner David, who he wed in 2010, to alcoholism in December 2019, and later wrote a memoir, The Madness of Grief, about living with someone in the grips of alcohol addiction – and the ‘paralysing’ period of sadness that followed.
This week, he joked that he was looking forward to an Aperol spritz and said he would ‘always be a priest’ but would officially stop work in his parish, Finedon in Northamptonshire, on Low Sunday, which falls this year on April 24th.
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‘Always a priest’…but Rev Richard Coles has revealed that he’ll retire from parish duties on Low Sunday – April 24th
Rev Richard with his partner Rev David Coles, who died in December 2019 ; Rev Richard’s memoir The Madness of Grief documented the ‘paralysing’ period of sadness that followed David’s death
He told his social media followers that he had already started packing ahead of the life change.
The 59-year-old, who shot to fame in his twenties as one half of pop band The Communards with Jimmy Somerville, has continued to enjoy life in the public eye, appearing on shows including The Chase and Strictly Come Dancing.
In December, the priest won BBC One’s Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook-Off.
Before David’s death, the couple lived with their dogs Daisy, Pongo, Audrey and Horatio in the vicarage of St Mary’s in Finedon.
They met after David approached Richard for advice on joining the clergy and soon developed romantic feelings for each other but maintained a celibate relationship.
After David died, Rev Richard explained how he had asked his partner’s family for permission to share his experiences of life with an addict – in the hopes of helping others in the same situation.
He told The Guardian in 2020 that he ‘discovered’ how much he wanted to express himself after David’s passing in 2019.
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Richard has revealed David was determined to keep his health woes private, however there was a public episode involving the police
Richard explained his reasons for publishing the book The Madness of Grief despite knowing his loved one wouldn’t have approved, saying: ‘David would have hated this book. Hated it. I just decided, well, it can’t hurt him now – and it might help other addicts’ spouses who are going through similar things.
‘When David was at his worst it was so gruelling, so difficult for me as his husband, I felt like I was falling through space sometimes.’
Richard added that although having the opportunity to write is an unexpected pleasure from David’s passing, it doesn’t compare to the loss of his partner.
Having appeared on prime-time shows and gained fame in pop band the Communards, Richard has revealed it took time to find a balance between a husband inclined to privacy and his busy public life.
David’s death in December 2019 shocked parishioners, as he kept his failing health private while battling illness for more than a year.
Rev Richard’s TV career – and his cooking – has continued to prosper; the priest won BBC One’s Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook-Off in December
Reflecting, he added at times people would push David out of the way to get to him, but David took it as a joke.
‘I wish I’d spent more time with David. I wish I’d prioritised doing nothing with David more. Not seeing that as a holiday from things, but as the centre of things,’ Richard said.
David, who became increasingly ill with liver disease, was determined to keep the drinking problem that eventually killed him a secret, however there were public outbursts including one that involved the police.
Richard details the day David was admitted to ICU in his memoir The Madness of Grief, and his decline before a decision was made to turn off his oxygen.
When asked about feeling guilty about publishing the book, he explained those who live with an addict are often plagued with guilt about if they should’ve done more when the person was alive.
Friends and David’s mother have shown interest in him meeting someone else, however Richard has said he can’t imagine having another love of his life.
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