Downton Michelle’s agony as cancer kills fiancé, 34
Lady Mary actress’s grief as lover dies of cancer at 34
‘Couldn’t tie the
knot in time’
DOWNTON star Michelle Dockery spent her 34th birthday yesterday preparing her fiance’s funeral after he died of cancer.
The actress was devastated by the sudden loss of John Dineen, a PR professional she had been dating for two years.
She broke off a promotional tour of the US to be at the 34-year-old’s bedside before he reportedly died from a rare form of the disease at a hospice on Sunday. The couple had hoped to marry before his illness progressed and wanted to be able to spend one last Christmas together, a source said last night. Instead, Miss Dockery spent yesterday helping his family in Ireland arrange his funeral.
As messages of support for the actress flooded in from around the world, many noted a sad similarity with her onscreen character Lady Mary Crawley – who was widowed after a brief marriage to Matthew Crawley.
One Downton Abbey fan wrote online: ‘First Lady Mary lost Matthew... now Michelle Dockery lost her real life fiance. Sometimes life is like the movies. So sad.’ Another added: ‘Sad news – life imitates art for Lady Mary.’
Mr Dineen’s death came at the end of a week during which Miss Dockery had been in the US promoting the final series of Downton Abbey.
Despite her fiance’s condition, she put on a brave face during television appearances on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last Wednesday and Watch What Happens Live on Thursday, where she laughed and joked alongside Irish co-star Allen Leech – who had introduced the couple in 2013.
Leech who starred alongside Miss Dockery in Downton Abbey as estate manager Tom Branson, was a close friend and former flatmate of Mr Dineen. As the romance blossomed, Miss Dockery and the new man in her life were seen smiling and kissing during a romantic holiday at the Venice Film Festival later that year.
Despite keeping their relationship relatively low-profile, the couple were spotted together at various social events, including at Wimbledon last year, where they sat in front of Pippa and James Middleton. Sadly, it would be the last time they would be pictured together in public.
With the couple guarding their privacy closely, Miss Dockery would only briefly reference Irish-born Mr Dineen in interviews. In one she revealed she had a ‘wonderful man in my life from Ireland’ and in another published just last month she said he was someone that, along with her mother, she turned to for advice.
‘When Allen introduced her to John there was definitely a sense that they fitted right away,’ an associate revealed yesterday. ‘They just got on and she loved the fact that he wasn’t bothered by her fame. He was interested in Michelle as a person, and he never asked her a thing about her work unless she brought it up first.
‘That was such a breath of fresh air for Michelle. It helped that he was drop dead gorgeous. She fell hard,
that’s for sure, and they were a proper couple right away. There was none of that pretending to be all casual, they were an item and wanted everyone to know it.’
Lady Mary, Downton Abbey fans will know, had her happy ending at the end of the most recent series of the period drama, marrying racing driver Henry Talbot.
In February, it looked as though Miss Dockery was to have her happy ending too when she was reportedly flashing a diamond engagement ring at a read-through with co-stars of the hit ITV drama.
‘She looked over the moon and was showing it off to all the cast and crew,’ a source was quoted.
It seemed she had found lasting love after a series of previous relationships ended. The star was said to have been devastated in 2012 when she split from American architect Trent Davies after more than three years together.
She briefly dated Holby City actor Joseph Millson but after the pair broke up he posted a series of tweets bemoaning the end of their affair. But she and Mr Dineen shared one thing in common – humble upbringings. She is the daughter of a van driver, while his father started out as a butcher and his mother Marie is a retired nurse.
Raised in Waterfall, near Cork – where his parents Patrick and Marie now run a farm – Mr Dineen studied food business and development at university in the city before taking a masters degree in Dublin in 2005. He then went on to work as a senior director with FTI Consulting.
The first indication of the tragedy to come emerged as Miss Dockery was preparing to take on a starring role in a West End production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
Suddenly – with no public explanation – she withdrew from that role in October, six weeks before the curtain went up. It now appears that her fiance’s reported battle with a rare form of cancer was behind the decision. Following the diagnosis, Mr Dineen, who had been working in London, returned to Ireland to spend time with his family. He died on Sunday at Cork’s Marymount Hospital, which specialises in palliative care.
A friend said: ‘They had a goal of spending one last Christmas together, but in the end he didn’t make it. They were planning to marry before he got too ill and never managed to do that because Michelle had a bunch of work commitments she couldn’t get out of. John was so proud of her and very much encouraged her to keep on working, but she feels terrible that they didn’t manage to tie the knot in time.’
The details of the illness are not known. However, a source revealed: ‘He’s had health issues for a long time now... basically throughout their relationship, and Michelle was aware of it very early on. But it was .... very much a case of fighting the illness and staying positive.’
A consummate actress, Miss Dockery committed herself to a flurry of appearances over two days in the US last week to promote the show. It seems only those closest to her had any inkling that the man she planned to marry was lying desperately ill in a hospice in Ireland.
A source said: John didn’t want her to stop working and life goes on, so she went over to the US to do the rounds of chat shows and promotional events. When the end came, it came very quickly.’
A friend added: ‘They had something very precious and I don’t know how she will go about coming to terms with the loss.
‘The best thing about their relationship was that it was so normal. For Michelle, the glitz and glamour has always been very much a diversion from her real life, which is just like anybody else’s. And in John she found a kindred spirit.
‘People used to tease him about his “boring” job but Michelle loved being with someone who had a proper profession, rather than the luvvies she’s constantly surrounded by.’
Downton Abbey creator Lord Julian Fellowes added: ‘We are very sorry for Michelle, all our thoughts are with her.’
Last night hundreds of Mr Dineen’s friends and family braved the rain to attend a private prayer vigil near his family home. His funeral is expected to take place today. Darnell Strom, an agent at Creative Artists Agency, wrote on Twitter: ‘Sad to have lost my friend John Dineen, he was an incredible man.’
FTI Consulting described Mr Dineen as an ‘immensely valued colleague and friend.’
In a statement last night, Miss Dockery thanked her fans for their ‘support and kindness’.
‘She fell for him hard’