- The Brookside star announced the death of her spouse of 13 years last month
Shameless star Tina Malone solemnly bid farewell to her army veteran husband Paul Chase today as pallbearers carried the coffin at his funeral after the army veteran’s shock death aged 42.
The Brookside star, 61, took to social media to announce the death of her spouse of 13 years, and father of her daughter Flame, 11, last month.
Tragic pictures showed her joining the crowd of mourners outside her home in Liverpool, wearing a muted black dress with a white and black fur coat.
Friends could be seen drying their eyes as fellow veterans helped to carry Mr Chase’s coffin to his hearse.
His dress hat from the Cheshire Regiment was placed on top of the coffin, while a flag had also been draped across it.
Ms Malone directed the crowd of mourners as they gathered in front of her house, before joining them herself and receiving hugs and comfort from the gathered friends and relatives.
Former colleagues of Mr Chase revealed he had ‘battled mental demons’ before his death, as they paid tribute after the tragic news.
The couple were married in 2010 but briefly separated in 2019 before getting back together in February 2020. Their reunion came after Paul rejoined the army and his mental health started to improve.
Celebrity Big Brother contestant Ms Malone, who starred alongside Coolio and Ulrika Jonsson in the in the hit show’s sixth series, wore a black dress studded with silver for the funeral, which she paired with a black hat and long black boots.
She combined it with a black and white fur coat and a studded black handbag.
In a short statement revealing his death last month, she said: ‘I am totally overwhelmed at the cards,flowers,messages,calls,txts,emails iV received from friends,family,colleagues,Paul’s army brothers,it’s a great comfort for us.
‘I will reply to everyone soon as I am able to,the support and kindness on here to has deeply touched me too xx’
His cause of death has not been revealed.
Despite her grief, Ms Malone appeared to maintain the character that made her so beloved by the British public.
In a poignant moment she comforted a girl in the crowd, gently appearing to reassure the young woman, who was wearing a black bow and grey, fluffy jacket.
Among the crowd was hairdresser to the stars Karl Mathers, who infamously bleached X-Factor singer Chris Maloney’s hair white om 2019.
The Cheshire Regiment Association, which Paul belonged to, shared pictures of the former officer in his military uniform, in honour of the man they affectionately knew as ‘Chevy’.
Friends from the regiment turned out in force for his funeral, with many in the group wearing regimental ties and some of his pallbearers proudly showing their medals.
A statement on Facebook read: ‘We have received the very sad news that Paul ‘Chevy’ Chase died yesterday at the age of 42. Paul was married to the actress Tina Malone.
‘RIP Paul. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this sad time.’
Underneath the post, tributes flooded in from his colleagues in the army, with many offering their condolences to Tina and the rest of his family.
Underneath the post, tributes flooded in from his colleagues in the army, with many offering their condolences to Tina and the rest of his family.
One wrote: ‘Rest in Peace Chevy. Stand easy brother, you’ve served your time in hell.’
Another added: ‘Another brother lost to mental demons. RIP Paul ‘Chevvy’ Malone. Thoughts with your family at this sad time.’
A third said: ‘Gutted to hear a fellow serviceman has taken the ultimate sacrifice, it was a pleasure to meet you mate and hope you are in a better place. RIP Paul Malone.’
Paul had previously been an army officer before becoming a personal trainer.
In the couple’s last pictures together, taken in August 2023, they are seen sharing a sweet kiss before Tina is lifted up by Paul as they celebrated their wedding anniversary.
The pair were staying at the Mercure Hotel in Liverpool when they were spotted on the romantic outing.
It had not always been smooth sailing for the loved up couple, however. After both struggling with mental health issues, the pair decided to split up in 2019.
But they managed to find their way back to each other with the I’m A Celebrity Star explaining the ‘love never went away’.
She told Closer magazine following their reunion in 2020: ‘The love never went away, we’re working on things now, our problems were compounded by depression but I learned that in tough times you have to pull together and not apart.
‘We were either arguing, bickering or not talking at all, I’d end up putting Flame to bed and falling asleep next to her.
‘Paul and I had always had a great sex life but were barely touching each other. At one point, we didn’t have sex for five months.’
Previously opening up on her relationship with husband of 13 years, Tina revealed they ‘always had that attraction’.
Speaking last year, despite being on the brink of divorce in 2019, Tina assured that ‘things are good’ now.
She explained: ‘Even in times when I’ve loathed him, and we all have that in relationships, in the worst of times – never ever has he not turned me on. We’ve always had that attraction.’
‘Paul and I still have so much passion, after 13 years you know each other so well. He still gives me butterflies,’ she added.
Tina appeared in prison drama Clink and even took part in Celebrity Big Brother in 2009.
Tina also made headlines when she lost 12 stone and dropped from a size 26 to a size six following gastric band surgery.
She has been open about her weight loss and back in 2016, she candidly talked about how she had been attacked online during her journey.
Tina said at the time: ‘I’ve had more abuse with the last one and a half stone weight loss than I had with my pregnancy, my nine ops or my gastric band.’
After her weight loss, Tina went on to spend £50,000 to remove her excess skin in 2015 in order to maintain her new found confidence in herself.
In December 2017, Tina was sacked from a pantomime after being found in possession of cocaine.
She claimed the cocaine was planted in her bag when she was arrested after her pantomime performance.
The relationship hit rock bottom in 2017 after Tina said she was left feeling suicidal after she was arrested and cautioned for possession of cocaine following her performance in pantomime Sleeping Beauty.
Paul, meanwhile, lost his job caring for violent teenagers and the couple found themselves on the brink of bankruptcy.
Speaking in June 2018, Tina revealed she felt so low following her public drug arrest – which happened in front of her daughter Flame – that she planned to take her own life.
She told the Daily Star: ‘I felt like a burden to everybody so I wrote to everyone to apologise and planned my own funeral.
‘I needed this to work. The panto thing killed me. This has been the worst time in my entire life.’
The couple tried for 18 months to make a go of things but Tina said she eventually came to the decision she wanted a divorce.
But after Paul found a job in the army, his mental health improved and they managed to patch things up.
‘Paul has learned he needs to recognise depression in himself and we are working on things, I say to him now: “I might want to kill you, but I’ll never divorce you”,’ Tina said.
Former alcoholic Tina said she has ‘always been honest’ about her past addictions – admitting she ‘smoked pot’ during her college days – but that alcohol was her ‘drug of choice’.
The mother-of-two said she would own up if she had been taking drugs, as she claimed that her arrest was a set-up.
Tina became a mother to her daughter Flame at the age of 50.
Tina, who fell pregnant after having IVF treatment, married personal trainer Paul, who is 19 years her junior, in 2010.
Tina sparked controversy when she announced she wanted to become a mother again with Paul when she was 54.
Speaking on Loose Women she told the panel: ‘I’ve always wanted a boy, and… [My daughter] Flame said she wanted a brother…’
Tina, who planned on using a surrogate, told The Sunday People: ‘Some will say I am selfish and irresponsible for having another child at 54.
‘They will moralise and abuse me – even more so for selecting the sex of our baby – and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
‘But I don’t give two f***s for what they think.’
The English star first rose to fame after starring as Mo McGee in Channel 4 soap opera Brookside in the 90s.
It was during this time that Tina overcame her alcoholism making the decision to go sober.
Opening up about her decision to ditch alcohol last year she said: ‘My biggest vice was always the drink and now I’m 25 years sober. Do I miss it? No I don’t,’ she previously told Closer.
Tina said she has ‘always been honest’ about her past addictions – admitting she ‘smoked pot’ during her college days – but that alcohol was her ‘drug of choice’.
After finishing Brookshire, she later landed a lead role as Mimi Maguire in Shameless, which ran between 2005 and 2013.
During that time, she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2009 but became the second person to be evicted.
It was while starring in Shameless that Tina met Paul. After two years of dating the couple tied the knot in 2010 before welcoming their daughter in 2013.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
