Tina Malone broke down in tears as she reflected on her husband Paul Chase’s tragic suicide, a year after his death.

The Shameless star, 62, previously shared that her husband, a war veteran, was driven to suicide after struggling with PTSD following his time in the armed forces.

In a preview clip for her interview on The Lewis Nicholls Show, Tina said that the treatment of war veterans ‘needs to change,’ after previously sharing that Paul, 42, turned to drink and drugs in an attempt to cope with his time serving in the army.

Breaking down in tears, she said: ‘My husband fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland.

‘He went from Belize to Cyprus, and he had a wonderful life in the army. But 4.8 veterans take their own lives in the UK every week.

‘You never hear about it and it needs to change now.’

Tina Malone broke down in tears as she reflected on her husband Paul Chase’s tragic suicide in a new interview, a year after his death

She later added: ‘I’m tenacious and driven, I’m highly annoying and irritating and opinionated, but if it helped somebody not go through what I’ve gone through…

‘I’ve got my 11-year-old, can you imagine telling a 10-year old who comes running in from school ”your dad is dead over the road” can you imagine that?’

Paul was a former member of the 22nd Regiment of the Cheshires, serving in Northern Ireland, Belize, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Falklands – where he was nicknamed Chevy by fellow squaddies because of his surname, after the comedian.

He died in March 2023, and it was two months later that Tina shared that her husband was driven to suicide after battles with his mental health.

She and Paul met at a boot camp event where he was a personal trainer after her appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.

During the interview, Tina also reflected on her own legal troubles, after receiving an eight-month suspended prison sentence and a £10,000 in 2019, after admitting contempt of court for posting a picture allegedly showing James Bulger killer Jon Venables on Facebook.

She said: ‘Now legally, I committed a crime. What I did was wrong and illegal, and I ended up in the High Court, the equivalent to the Old Bailey.

‘The Attorney General summoned me to court, it went global, for contempt of court.

The Shameless star previously shared that her husband, a war veteran, was driven to suicide after struggling with PTSD following his time in the armed forces (pictured in 2015)

‘Saw a picture of who is in witness protection for the last 30 years, and I just shared it, along with two million other people, [I] didn’t comment.

‘But yeah, I ended up that High Court with an eight month suspended prison sentence for two years and a large, large fine and costs. [I regret it] absolutely, totally and utterly.’

Tina tied the knot with Paul, who is 19 years her junior, in 2010 and they were married for nine years, before briefly separating in 2019 – getting back together just months later in February 2020.

But their relationship was troubled in 2017 as Tina was arrested and cautioned for cocaine possession – being sacked from a pantomime in the process – while Paul lost his job caring for violent teenagers.

The couple were left facing bankruptcy and Tina says his mental health spiralled during this time, using prescription drugs and cocaine in an attempt to cope before attempting to take his own life.

He was admitted to psychiatric care, and was given help by an veterans charity, but Tina said he would experience mood swings.

Last year, statistics on British military veteran suicides were published for the first time and expose the mental health crisis facing our soldiers as they retire from service and attempt to return to civilian life.

In a preview clip for her interview on The Lewis Nicholls show, Tina said that the treatment of war veterans ‘needs to change’

Paul died in March 2023, and it was two months later that Tina shared that her husband was driven to suicide after battles with his mental health (pictured in 2013)

According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2021 – the most recent figures available – suicides by men aged 35 to 44 were almost twice as high among veterans as non-veterans, at 33.5 per 100,000, compared to 18.8.

Tina previously confessed that she is ‘broken’ following the death of her husband Paul, after she revealed the last conversation they had on the day he died.

In a heartbreaking post, she detailed Paul’s final hours before he died, revealing that he had made breakfast for their daughter and kissed Tina goodbye.

She tweeted: ‘Four weeks ago at 4pm today my hubby made scrambled eggs, bacon, beans, sausages for Flame, kissed me and said see you later….

’10 hours later he was dead, I am broken, so bereft.’