Gary Speed’s widow Louise’s second husband dies aged 53

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Quinton Bird, a property developer, was diagnosed with aggressive brain tumour six months after his wedding to Louise.

Louise Speed, the widow of late Welsh football manager Gary Speed , has tragically lost her second husband at the age of 53 after a battle with brain cancer. Louise, who lost Leeds United, Newcastle United and Everton legend Gary in 2011, married Quinton Bird in December 2021 after working as his business partner running a new build and renovation company in Cheshire.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bird, a property developer, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour six months after the wedding to Louise, although he had been previously diagnosed with a much more treatable tumour, more than two years earlier. His death came just over a decade after the death of the football legend Speed.

Speed, who made appearances 248 times for Leeds United between 1998 and 1996, was discovered dead in his garage by his wife, Louise. He may have died accidentally, according to a coroner’s narrative verdict, which stated that there was insufficient evidence to establish his intention to take his own life.

Louise’s relationship with Quinton became public after she told a national newspaper in an exclusive interview that she had found happiness and joy with a new partner. Louise stated she had built up a layer of armour after the sudden death of her childhood sweetheart Gary in 2011.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She had said: "It was like being in the worst nightmare possible. There were no answers and no Gary walking through the door again. Nothing was ever going to be right again. I was trudging through life, just functioning. If I could have been anybody else apart from me, for a long time, I would have happily taken it.

"But we are 10 years on now. It’s a cliché but time is a healer even if it takes years. I have learned that life can be good again, and can be great again.” On her new relationship, she said: “I don’t think you move on from something like this as the same person. have become wiser. I am probably more confident than I was.

“But I tend to wear a body of armour around me the whole time, if I am honest — so that I cannot be hurt again. I know as we go through life different things hit us and I actually think that I deal with things OK now. Nothing fazes me or scares me anymore.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In the wake of Bird’s death, his daughter from his previous marriage, set up a fundraising page in memory of her father and his fight against cancer by completing a long trek in the Lake District,  and the money will be donated to the Brain Tumour Research charity. So far, they have raised a little over £4,000 of the £5,300 target.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.