Shameless’ Tina Malone says husband Paul died by suicide: 'I'm in hell - I'll never stop crying'
Tina Malone was left heartbroken when her husband of 14 years, Paul Chase, sadly passed away at age 42 in March, leaving behind the actress and their 10-year-old daughter, Flame. And now, the Shameless actress, who said she doesn't "think I will ever stop crying", has told OK! that soldier Paul took his own life.
Recalling the harrowing day, the TV star, 61, explained: "Paul hadn’t come home the previous night. There are woods opposite the house and as I was leaving to take Flame to school I heard sirens and saw flashing blue lights and I knew. I just knew.
“I got home and then there was a knock. When I opened the door the police were there. I said ‘it’s Paul isn’t it?’ We’d been through hell in the 12 months before he died. He had felt so lost, so useless. He couldn’t fight any more," said Tina.
Paul was a soldier with the Cheshire Regiment and served his country across the world for a decade, including brutal tours of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Tina believes that witnessing war is what caused Paul's PTSD, a condition he was diagnosed with three years ago and which led to anxiety and depression.
Detailing the lasting effects that war had on her husband, Tina said: "When he got drunk he would ramble about the army and I would tell him ‘you have depression, you have emotional issues because of what you’ve seen’ but he would sweep it away. He’d say ‘how will I get a job if I have that?’
She added: “But this is a man who served his country and saved lives. He admitted it in the end but by then things had gone too far. He couldn’t find a way back.”
Following her loss, Tina is keen to raise awareness and stop the stigma surrounding suicide as she aims to talk about it more.
Sharing that she will continue her husband's legacy for their daughter to look up to, Tina continued: " I’m not ashamed of what Paul did. I will always be proud of the man I married but I am worried about the stigma around suicide.
"I don’t want Flame to be defined as the daughter of a man who took his own life but the daughter of a wonderful dad and a man who served his country. That’s what we have to address,” says Tina.
In this ordeal, she has also become aware of a lack of support for veterans who are struggling mentally, something she hopes to change.
“I wish to God he’d not gone because I need him so badly and I miss him so much and yes, I am angry but not with him. I’m angry at the lack of support out there for veterans - for anybody - dealing with mental health issues."
Now Tina is ready to launch Paul’s Flame, a charitable foundation in his memory to help the most disadvantaged in our society.
To get involved with Paul’s Flame contact Tina on X @TinaMalone23
If you need help with any of the issues raised, please contact Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org, contact National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK on 0800 689 5652, SANEline on 0300 304 7000 or CALM on 0800 58 58 58
