Gary Speed's widow Louise has been left bereaved for a second time after her new husband Quinton Bird died after suffering with a brain tumour, it has emerged.
Louise and the property developer had married little more than a year ago in December 2021, a decade after the death of Wales football legend Speed.
But Quinton died only six months later after suffering with an aggressive brain tumour, the Daily Mail reports, having been diagnosed more than two years earlier. The pair had been business partners for six years at the time of their nuptials, and were both directors of successful new build and renovation company Bow Property Development in Chester.
Read more: Gary Speed 10 years on — Family, teammates, and friends on the inexplicable tragedy
In July, Quinton’s father Roy, 80, who organises an annual Hi-Fi trade exhibition in the north-west called the UK Audio Show, dedicated the 2022 event to his eldest son and announced that a percentage of ticket sales for the October event would be donated to the Brain Tumour Charity.
Writing movingly, Roy said: "[My wife] Jenny and I have been blessed with two caring and generous sons who have grown into wonderful fathers and hard-working individuals. Over the years, they formed a wide range of friendships and were never out of work. Both have worked with me harmoniously, which has been a rare personal pleasure.
"To lose one of them at such a young age is beyond words. Thanks to Quinton, Jenny, Justin, our six beautiful grandchildren, two daughters-in-law, and I are left with a wealth of beautiful and extraordinary memories."
Louise's relationship with Quinton was revealed after she previously told the newspaper in a rare interview that she had found happiness and joy with a new partner. After the death of childhood sweetheart Gary, who took his own life in 2011, Louise said she had built up a layer of armour.
November 27, 2021, marked a decade since the Wales manager and former captain died aged 42. Louise had found Gary dead in the garage of their home in 2011, where he had hanged himself. A coroner recorded a narrative verdict, saying there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove he intended to commit suicide and that his death may have been an accident.
"It was like being in the worst nightmare possible," she had said. "There were no answers and no Gary walking through the door again. Nothing was ever going to be right again. I was trudging through life, just functioning. If I could have been anybody else apart from me, for a long time, I would have happily taken it.
"But we are 10 years on now. It's a cliché but time is a healer even if it takes years. I have learned that life can be good again, can be great again."
Of her new relationship, she added: "I don't think you move on from something like this as the same person," she said. "I have become wiser. I am probably more confident than I was. But I tend to wear a body of armour around me the whole time, if I am honest — so that I cannot be hurt again. I know as we go through life different things hit us and I actually think that I deal with things OK now. Nothing fazes me or scares me anymore.
"I don't know if that body of armour has developed over time or whether I deliberately put it on at some point. All I know is that it is there now and it wasn't 10 years ago. I just want to protect myself from life. I don't want to feel or go through anything like that ever again. I hope that makes sense."
In photographs from the couple's big day in 2021, Louise was pictured in a white lace gown with intricate detailing across the sleeves and train, while the stunning ceremony took place in a room filled with white hydrangeas and roses.
READ MORE:
Gary Speed's widow Louise admits she wants to forgive him as she opens up on finding peace
How Gary Speed kickstarted Wales football revolution before tragic death aged 42
The Gary Speed letter at 17 where he talked of 'just going to sleep and hoping to never wake up'
