Darts icon Wayne Mardle shares emotional video on ‘brutal’ grief after death of his wife

Darts icon Wayne Mardle has bravely opened up on the grief of losing his wife, Donna, in December 2024.

In a video on TikTok, Mardle talked about the brutal day-to-day reality of dealing with the loss of his beloved wife of 22 years.

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Donna passed away at the age of 52 following a short illness.

It happened on the eve of the 2025 World Darts Championship and Mardle was absent from screens throughout the event.

Now he has emotionally opened up on TikTok.

Mardle said: “This is a first for me, I’m having one of those days. This is the first of another genre of TikTok for me.

“I think you may even call it ‘GriefTok’ nowadays. Normally it is a bit of golf and a bit of darts.

“My wife Donna died on December 11, 2024, so about 430-odd days ago. I used to count the days, call that progress, call it what you like. It doesn’t feel like progress, it is absolutely brutal.

“The reason I’m doing this is, while it is brutal, I am still here and all you can do is keep trying. 

“It is a process, so I’m told, and you go through stages. You don’t go through stages.

“You go through phases, there’s a phase and then there’s another phase. Before you know it, that phase is returning so the stage or phase you think is going to pass, it doesn’t work that way.

“So however you’re feeling is how you’re feeling, don’t worry about it and when I say that I literally mean deal with it how you feel you want to deal with it, there’s no right or wrong here.”

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Mardle himself is a four-time World Darts Championship semi-finalist before going on to become a fan-favourite pundit.

He went on to offer advice to others who might be going through similar feelings.

Mardle added: “I used to literally go everyday to Donna’s graveside. I haven’t been there for the past… well, since Christmas Day and it is now February 21. 

“I don’t feel guilty, I just feel like I can’t do it because it beats me, beats me every time I go over there, you have a millisecond off of forgetting, right, that’s about it. 

“But I just want to tell you all, that those who are going through similar, don’t overthink it.

“Don’t double bluff yourself, just get on with it how you think is right and the people who question you are not your friends, they’re not your family, they have a perception of grief, it’s incorrect. 

‘It’s just brutal, it really is brutal but all I’m saying to all of you is, if I can help one person, I’m not even helping myself here, I don’t know what I’m doing, just do it how you want to do it.

“Don’t overthink it, please don’t. I hope tomorrow is better than today.”