Sir Tom: I feel so guilty over death of my wife
SIR Tom Jones says he blamed himself for the death of his wife – and believes he will never find love again.
The It’s Not Unusual singer, 78, was devastated when his beloved Melinda lost her battle with lung cancer more than two years ago.
At his lowest point he convinced himself he could have done more to save his partner of 59 years.
In an emotional interview, The Voice coach said: “After I lost my wife, lyrics to a Bob Dylan song reminded me of her. It’s called What Good Am I?
“The song didn’t really apply to me because it is about someone who turns their back and doesn’t see what’s really happening.
“But I was reading into the lyrics thinking ‘Jesus Christ...was I partly to blame? Should I have woken up before?’ Because she had lung cancer. I thought ‘What could I have done?’ It started to mean more.
However, thinking rationally, he realised he could not have saved Melinda, who died aged 75 in 2016.
“The reality is I couldn’t really have done anything because by the time we found out about her cancer it was too late. So there’s not a lot you can do.
“But then you do start to think ‘What if I had forced her to go to the doctor’s?’ Because she didn’t go.
“You think ‘ **** , maybe I should have said she had to’. So that song is very touching.”
Tom and Melinda were childhood sweethearts in Wales and wed as teenagers in 1957. Their only child, Mark, was born the same year.
Tom, added: “When something like that happens it’s so devastating. It was something I’d never dealt with before. When you lose someone
CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS: Melinda with Tom at their home in 1967
that you love it can kick you in the... if you really love somebody and they go that’s hard.
“But you’ve got to try or you’ll crumble completely and other people will suffer. You’ve got to think about your family as well.”
Asked if he will ever find love again, Tom admitted: “I don’t think so.”
Tom has bravely continued to perform as well as being a coach on The Voice, which returned to ITV for a new series last night.
One of his biggest hurdles was singing What Good Am I? because it brings back memories of Melinda.
He said: “When she passed away it was such a blow. I didn’t know whether I’d be able to do that song again. It was the one song I was scared because she loved it.
“I had therapy in LA. She said to me ‘Don’t make any drastic moves right now, give it a little time’.
“I told her about the song and she said ‘That’s the first one you should try, get the one you’re scared of over with’.
“I thought as long as I could channel it with balance then I could return to music. I tried it. I got some of my musicians together and that was the first step. And doing that really helped me.
“Time is a healer. Things sink in and you realise ‘This is it, this is the way it’s going to be’.
“So you look at it more realistically as time goes on.” of