Soap Opera and 'Shameless' Star Announces Death of Her Husband: 'We Are Devastated'

Tina Malone's husband Paul Chase has died. The actress, who starred in the British soap opera Brookside and also the British comedy Shameless , revealed in a heartbreaking social media post that her husband of 13 years passed away at the age of 42 Tuesday morning.

"It's with total heartbreak I write this. My husband Paul Chase Malone passed away this morning. We are totally devastated," the actress, 61, wrote in a statement shared to X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday. Malone did not disclose her husband's cause of death.

Malone and Chase married in 2010 and were together for nine years before briefly separating in 2019. They quickly reconciled and got back together just a few months later in February 2020, Malone sharing at the time that their "love never went away." They share daughter Flame, who they welcomed in 2013. Malone is also mother to daughter Danielle, 41, who she welcomed when she was 18 during a previous relationship. Malone and Chase celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary in August 2023.

Opening up about their brief split and reconciliation in a 2020 interview with Closer , Malone said she and Chase were "working on things now, our problems were compounded by depression but I learned that in tough times you have to pull together and not apart. We were either arguing, bickering or not talking at all, I'd end up putting Flame to bed and falling asleep next to her."

Speaking last year as they marked their anniversary, Malone shared that "things are good now," explaining that "even in times when I've loathed him, and we all have that in relationships, in the worst of times - never ever has he not turned me on. We've always had that attraction." She said that she and Chase "still have so much passion, after 13 years you know each other so well. He still gives me butterflies."

Following Malone's heartbreaking statement Wednesday, fans flooded the star with condolences. Replying to the post, one person wrote , "So very sorry to hear your sad news. No words will ease your pain, I hope you can take comfort knowing you are in so many people's thoughts and prayers. Big hug."

Malone is best known for her starring roles in Brookside and Shameless . She starred as Mo McGee in the soap, set in Liverpool, England, from 1993 through 1998. On Shameless , which inspired the U.S. adaptation, Malone appeared as Mimi Maguire across 112 episodes from 2005 until the show's conclusion in 2013. Her other credits include Clink , Celebrity Big Brother , Fingersmith , Wings , and Simon and Emily , among many others, per her IMDb page .