England football hero Jimmy Greaves marries his ex-wife... 6 decades after their first wedding
IT WAS an emotional action replay for England football legend Jimmy Greaves as he remarried his ex-wife Irene – 59 years after they first tied the knot.
The couple, who have four children, divorced in 1977 only to reunite a year later when they found they couldn’t live without each other.
They finally married again in front of family at a church ceremony near their Essex home on Thursday last week.
Greaves, 77, a former striker for England and Spurs, said he was ‘delighted’ to
‘A lovely day, poignant and emotional’
remarry his wife. Pictures show the frail football legend, who suffered a massive stroke in 2015, holding hands with Mrs Greaves as they sign the register.
Despite his condition, his wife said he did ‘brilliantly’ and was able to say ‘ most of what he needed to say’ through the ceremony. ‘It was a lovely day, very poignant and very emotional for the children’, she told the Sunday People.
‘When we turned around, I said, “Come on then, husband” and everyone roared with laughter.’ Mrs Greaves has been nursing her husband, who was part of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad but was not picked for the final, since he was discharged from hospital two years ago. The sporting great, who scored 266 goals in 379 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur, previously recovered from a minor stroke in 2012.
Mrs Greaves, also 77, said remarrying was something the pair had ‘never thought about’ because ‘as far as we were concerned we were always married’. She joked that she is likely to keep their first wedding date as their anniversary because next year will be the diamond celebration. Their first big day was on a Wednesday, because Greaves ‘was always playing football on Saturdays’.
This time they chose a Thursday and their two daughters served as witnesses. The family then celebrated at a nearby restaurant. No speeches were given, but their grandson Harry raised a toast to ‘Nan and Grandad’ during the meal. Mrs Greaves added: ‘Jim was offered a brandy but he wouldn’t take it. He wanted a cigarette but I had to remind him he couldn’t smoke in a restaurant and that we’d have to go outside.’
Greaves is still fourth on the list of England’s all-time top scorers, behind Wayne Rooney, Sir Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker. He was also well loved for his ITV football show Saint and Greavsie, which ran from 1985 to 1992 and co-starred former Scotland player Ian St John.