'I've got to learn how to be half a whole'

Delia Smith said she needed to learn how to be "half a whole" after the death of her husband.

Michael Wynn Jones and Smith were married for 55 years before he died in September. They were majority shareholders at Norwich City Football Club for 26 years before handing over control of the club in 2024.

Smith said she was by his side "night and day" during the last six weeks of his life, when speaking on the Amol Rajan Connections podcast.

"I'm filled with gratitude; I mean, 55 years of a marriage that was so incredible, I mean, we had such a ball together," she added.

Smith said she was learning to adapt to life without her husband by her side.

She continued: "We did so many things. We had a lovely life together. And we're 85, and you're sort of thinking, well, you know, our lives are coming to an end anyway.

"But, obviously, I've got to learn how to be half a whole. That's going to be hard after 55 years."

Smith said Wynn Jones was "very ill" for the last six weeks of his life and praised the NHS and hospice workers who helped care for her husband during that time.

She said: "All you read about in the newspapers in the National Health is queues in corridors, beds in corridors.

"That's what you hear about, but my god, you know, if you've got somebody who's very, extremely ill and coming to the end of their life, the help that you get is incredible, and the National Health are wonderful.

"The carers, the district nurses, but also the hospice."

Asked if she could relive a moment in her life, she replied: "Any moment with my husband."

Smith was also asked what the secret was to a long and successful marriage and said: " I think if you both like football, it helps."

For Wynn Jones, "cricket and football were his life", she added.

The couple, who lived near Stowmarket in Suffolk, became defining figures in the Canaries' history, overseeing five promotions to the Premier League.

Smith returned to Carrow Road for a match for the first time on Saturday, as warm tributes were paid to Wynn Jones ahead of a 1-0 defeat to Portsmouth.

"Michael and I didn't describe ourselves as owners; we described ourselves as caretakers," she added.

"Because the football club will be there.

"You know, when we're not there, when the next owner's not there, the football club will still be there; I still believe in football supporters. I believe in them."

Outside of football, Wynn Jones worked as a journalist for titles including the Daily Mirror and The Spectator, before founding his own publishing company.

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