Actress Anna Maxwell Martin has opened up on her "state of shock and fear" following the death of her husband.
The TV star, 47, who is best known for her roles in Motherland and Line of Duty, reflected on the devastating aftermath of the death of director Roger Michell, who passed away at the age of 65 in 2021. Anna and the Notting Hill director started dating in 2004, tied the knot in 2010 and welcomed daughters Maggie, 15, and Nancy, 13.
They announced their split in 2020, and just a year later Roger suddenly died. Anna has candidly spoke about her grief as she revealed the strain it put on her. She said: "My husband died three years ago and things were really difficult in every aspect of our lives. And one of those was - there’s lots of stuff that comes with grief, and one of those was financial terror.
"Then there are real practicalities around your children, and their mental health and supporting them, which is your priority. Looking back I was probably in a state of shock and fear - a heightened state - for a long time until very recently. I’ve trod this road of grief and sudden traumatic death before. I’ve done it before. So in a way I could pick myself up and do it again."
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Getty Images)Speaking on BBC's Woman's Hour, Anna added: "It was horrible to have to see my children walk that road. But I’m pretty gritty and pretty strong, and I think I’m quite deft, I hope, at navigating life. I thought, 'I’ve just got to keep the motor chugging on'." Anna also shared her first experience with grief came in her 20s when she lost her father.
"When it happened to me when I was 24, I was very lonely," she shared. "I was very isolated because no one I knew had been through it what I'd been through - I didn't know those people. Then when it happened with Rog, I saw it more as, we’ve all got to keep it together for the kids.
"I also think there's something about being a woman in your 40s and by then, if you’re lucky enough you will have succeeded in having the best friends and best people around you. You’ll have stopped making mistakes in that area of your life and I really did. I had exceptional friends and an exceptional support network."
Anna recently shared how some people would cross the road to avoid her after the heartbreaking loss of her ex-husband. Speaking to The Sunday Times, Anna said that some of her circle of friends had “c**ked up” by not showing any empathy towards Roger’s grieving family. “We make these broad, sweeping statements about, ‘we’re much better now,’ but I haven’t found that. Schools certainly aren’t any better,” she began.
“And then there are those who talk to me as if nothing’s happened. We’ve experienced a whole load of that. The girls - thank God - are very deft at processing it, so they will bring their daddy into conversation, but even members of Roger’s generation, people my age, can’t have [his death] mentioned,” Anna explained.
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English (US) ·