Introduction:
For more than half a century, the world knew him as Tom Jones—the powerful voice, the charismatic performer, and one of the most recognizable stars to emerge from Britain. But behind the stage lights was Tommy Woodward, the boy from Pontypridd, Wales, who fell in love with Linda Trenchard when they were only 12 years old. Their story began long before fame, before Las Vegas, and before the world knew his name.
They married in 1957, both just 16, with their son Mark already on the way. At the time, Jones was working ordinary jobs, including selling vacuum cleaners, while Linda built their home life around him. Then, in 1965, everything changed. Tommy Woodward became Tom Jones, and his extraordinary voice carried him onto some of the world’s biggest stages.
Fame brought enormous attention—and countless stories about women. Jones has openly acknowledged that he was unfaithful during their marriage, including an affair with Mary Wilson of The Supremes in 1968 that brought his relationship with Linda close to breaking point. Yet the story took an unexpected turn. Linda and Wilson eventually became friends, and Wilson remained connected to the Jones family for years.
Through every chapter, Linda remained the person Jones repeatedly described as the most important in his life. She largely avoided the spotlight, choosing the private world they had built together rather than the celebrity world surrounding her husband. She had married Tommy Woodward, not the international legend called Tom Jones.
In 2016, their extraordinary journey reached its most painful chapter. Linda, who had been living with emphysema, was diagnosed with lung cancer. Jones returned to Los Angeles and spent her final 10 days beside her hospital bed. As he later recalled, he struggled to imagine continuing without her.
But Linda had one final instruction.
Their plan had been to leave America and return to Britain, but she no longer had time to make that journey. She told him to complete it without her—and, most memorably, to “think of me laughing.” She wanted him to remember her not through the final days of illness, but through the joy of the life they had shared.
Jones listened. He sold their Los Angeles home, moved back to London, and eventually transformed his grief into music. His album Surrounded by Time reflected on aging, memory, loss, and the passage of life. In 2021, it reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, making Jones, at 80, the oldest male artist to achieve that distinction at the time.
Yet Linda’s final request went beyond his career. When asked whether he would ever seek another relationship, Jones gave an answer that left little room for interpretation. He spoke of the future they had imagined together: “We would be old together.” That future had been taken from them, and he had no desire to replace it.
Now, years after Linda’s death, Jones continues to perform. The voice remains, the humor remains, and the songs continue to fill concert halls. But behind every performance is a quieter story.
The world sees Tom Jones under the lights. Linda knew Tommy Woodward.
And every time he steps onto a stage, he appears to be keeping the promise she left him with: remember me laughing—and let that memory lift you up.