Sheridan Smith’s heartache after ex’s shock death at 39
Sheridan Smith must be suffering a certain amount of heartache after the sudden death of her ex, which could also serve as a painful reminder that the star is yet to find The One
Gavin & Stacey star Sheridan Smith has been through a lot of heartache – and she was delivered another crushing blow recently, when it was revealed that an ex-boyfriend had died unexpectedly in LA, aged just 39. Stylist-to-the stars Graham Nation, who has worked with Demi Moore, Jared Leto and Venus Williams, died after collapsing in a gym on Valentine’s Day.
The case is now pending an additional investigation, according to the LA County Department of Medical Examiner. Graham is survived by his make-up artist partner Tonya Brewer and their six-month-old son, Romeo. Sheridan, 43, dated the celebrity stylist in 2017, calling him her “dream man”, as reports OK!.
It would be understandable if the news has hit Sheridan hard. As well as the pain of his loss, her ex’s death must surely also act as a poignant reminder to mum-of-one Sheridan – who is currently thought to be single – that, despite several high-profile relationships, she is yet to find The One.
Last May, the actress – who, as well as a roller-coaster love life, has struggled with well-documented addiction and mental health issues over the years – admitted that she had signed up to dating apps again.
The move came three years after her split from ex-fiancé Jamie Horn, who she met on Tinder and welcomed her son, Billy, with in 2020. At the time of their split, she said she was “still figuring out” her love life but was more than “happy” with spending her time with her little boy. Speaking of being in the acting business, she admitted, “It’s hard to let anyone into that world, and for anyone to want to be part of that world as well, so who knows what the future holds, but I’m happy.”
She also said she felt she was “good” at being single – but that her mates would disagree with her. “Of course, I’d love to get older with somebody, but if I don’t I’ve got my boy and I live for him. It’s me and him against the world. Everything is for him, so I don’t feel the need now to be dating like I always used to. “Hopefully one day, someone will love me for me.”
Sheridan’s rocky romance history included a year-long relationship with her Gavin & Stacey co-star James Corden in 2007. The pair seemed like love’s young dream, but went their separate ways after a year, rekindling their romance in 2009 for a short time. James previously described Sheridan as “the love of his life” and confessed that he was “heartbroken” when things didn’t work out between them.
In 2010, the actress was briefly involved with Scottish actor Ross McCall, and also went on to strike up a romance with Hollyoaks star Greg Wood, famed for his role in the soap as Trevor Royle. The lovebirds went public in January 2015 and even got matching tattoos. But by July 2015 it was all over, Sheridan calling out her ex on Twitter as she said she’d been “hurt by an idiot boy yet again”.
After her painful split from Billy’s father, Jamie, Sheridan reconnected with an old flame, actor Alex Lawler in 2021, 20 years after they first dated. But by January 2022, it was announced that the couple had parted ways. A relationship in 2023 with former boxer Dave “Rocky” Ryan is also thought to have “fizzled out”
in spring 2024. In the midst of all those turbulent times when it comes to romance, Sheridan has been very open about her mental health struggles, which came to a head in the wake of her beloved father Colin’s death from cancer in 2016. That devastating loss, she said, felt like a ‘‘double grieving”, as it caused the trauma to resurface of losing her older brother Julian to the same disease – when she was just eight and he was 18.
Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show, discussing being forced to pull out of performing in the musical Funny Girl, Sheridan bravely opened up about her breakdown. She said, “It was a gradual build-up when my dad got diagnosed and I just couldn’t continue, I lost my mind, I completely did, to the point where people were stopping me in the street and cuddling me because people understand that, it’s just life.”
It’s clear that Sheridan is still looking for that forever love that, unlike success as an actress, seems to have eluded her so far. And for someone that has suffered so much heartache, that lasting happiness is a long time coming.
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