Reverend Richard Coles of Telly, a priest and minister to the sick has declared that he is retiring in April. This comes two years after Rev David Coles died from an alcohol-related illness.
On Tuesday, the 59-year old told 448,000 of his Twitter followers that he had a ‘#demob” to do ahead of completing parish duties for spring.
Rev Coles was married to David in 2010. He died from alcoholism December 2019. Later, he wrote The Madness of Grief which is a memoir about his experiences with alcoholism and the “paralysing” period of sorrow that ensued.
The joke was that he’d like to have an Aperol spritz this week. He also said he’d ‘always’ be a priest, but would stop working in Finedon, Northamptonshire on Low Sunday. This year, it falls on April 24th.
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The Rev Richard Coles, who is a priest ‘… has announced that he will retire from parish duty on Sunday Low Sunday (April 24th).
Rev Richard and Rev David Coles (who died December 2019, aged 59). Rev Richard’s autobiography The Madness of Grief described the “paralysing” period of grief that ensued after David’s passing.
His social media followers were informed that he was packing for the change in his life.
The 59-year old, who rose to prominence in his twenties with the formation of The Communards, along with Jimmy Somerville in pop music, continues to live a full life and has appeared on many shows, such as The Chase or Strictly come Dancing.
December saw the winner of BBC One’s Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook-Off.
The couple had lived together with their four dogs, Pongo and Audrey, before David’s passing.
David reached out to Richard with advice about joining the clergy. They soon fell in love and began a relationship.
Rev Richard, David’s partner, explained to him that he asked permission from his family to tell others about his life as an addict.
He told The Guardian in 2020 that he ‘discovered’ how much he wanted to express himself after David’s passing in 2019.
Richard said that David had been determined to keep his problems with his health private. But, it was revealed by Richard that there was a public incident involving police.
Richard explained the reasons he decided to publish The Madness of Grief even though his love one might not have approved. Richard said that David would have loved this book. It was a horrible book. 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 the worst, it was so strenuous, so difficult to me as his spouse, that I felt like a falling through space some times.”
Richard said that while the chance to write was an unexpected joy from David’s passing it isn’t comparable to his loss.
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 died in December 2019. He was a shock to parishioners as he had kept his declining health secret while fighting illness for over a year.
The TV career of Rev Richard – as well his television cooking – continues to flourish. In December, the BBC One Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook-Off winner was Richard.
He said that David was sometimes pushed out by others to reach him. David thought it was a joke.
“I wish that I had spent more time with David. It would have been nice to prioritize doing nothing with David. Richard said that Richard did not see this as a way to escape from problems, but as the core of everything.
David became more ill from liver disease and was determined not to drink. However, there were many public outbursts, including one that involved police.
In his memoir The Madness of Grief Richard describes the moment David was admitted into ICU and how he declined before it was decided to shut off his oxygen.
Asking him about his guilt at publishing the book, the author explained that addicts often have guilt over not doing more while they were alive.
David has expressed an interest to meet someone new through friends and his mother, although Richard said that he couldn’t picture having another partner in life.