Former EastEnders star Jill Halfpenny has spoken with raw honesty about the devastating loss of her partner, Matt Janes, who suffered a fatal heart attack at a gym in 2017.
A Double Tragedy of Heartbreak
The actress, now 50, described the sudden death of her long-term partner as "by far the most difficult thing" she has ever endured. This profound loss echoed a family tragedy from her childhood; her own father died at the age of 36 from a similar cardiac event during a football match when Jill was just four years old.
Reflecting on the compounded grief of losing both her father and her partner, the Gateshead-born star explained how she has tried to channel her pain into personal growth. "I guess what I've learned from it is that if I can get through that, and if I can try to come to terms with it and accept it, then… it's not that I feel indestructible, but I feel I've worked a muscle," she shared in a recent interview.
The Day Her World Changed
Jill, best known for roles in Byker Grove and as Kate Mitchell in EastEnders, has previously recounted the harrowing details of that day in 2017. Matt, aged 43, failed to return home from a gym session, prompting her to go and look for him.
Upon arriving at the fitness studio, she discovered him lying on the floor. Despite being rushed to hospital by ambulance and attempts to revive him with a defibrillator, he could not be saved.
The first person she called was her mother, a moment fraught with shared pain. "I could hear the fear in my mam’s voice. I was ringing her with the news about Matt, but I was still thinking about her, that she knows exactly how this feels," Jill told The Sunday Times. "And I could hear it in her voice, I could hear that she knew I was about to go on that same journey."
Healing, Love, and Moving Forward
Jill, who is a mother to a teenage son, Harvey, from her previous marriage, also revealed that she and Matt were trying for a baby at the time of his death. She has since found a way to frame her ongoing grief, using a powerful metaphor.
"And as we heal, and as we talk, and as we communicate, and as we connect, then the space around the stone starts to get a bit bigger," she explained. "I don't think the stone necessarily gets smaller; I think the space around it does."
Honouring a promise she made to Matt, Jill is now in a relationship with partner Ian McAllister. She said Matt had made her vow to meet someone else and find love again. Speaking about her current happiness, she said: "It sounds so cheesy, but I think Ian and I met at the perfect time. After Matt died, I didn't know if I'd ever meet anyone again, but Ian is my cheerleader."
The actress continues her successful career, with recent leading roles in dramas like The Cuckoo and Girl Taken, carrying forward the resilience forged in her most painful moments.
