Comedian John Bishop’s morbid joke about wife that saved marriage after brutal split
John Bishop and his wife Melanie were on the brink of divorce after growing apart – but it was a brutal joke that helped to bring them back together
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Comedian John Bishop has revealed how a joke he told in a comedy club helped him rekindle his love for his wife.
The Liverpool-born comic, who is marking 25 years in the industry with a new tour next year, including performances at major venues such as the O2 and Manchester’s Co-op, has previously shared that his regular gig at the Frog and Bucket was instrumental in saving his marriage to Melanie.
In 2000, after separating from Melanie – with whom he shares three sons – for 18 months and being on the brink of divorce, she attended one of his comedy shows. It was there that she heard him tell a joke about how much he missed her.
The couple, who had been married since 1993, managed to laugh off their issues and decided to give their relationship another go.
Speaking to The Mirror in 2014, John explained: “There was no huge fight or revelation about someone else. We just grew apart. Maybe it had something to do with having three kids so quickly. For six years there was always someone in the house in nappies. Our marriage just faded.”
He added: “You realise that the person you wanted to spend your life with no longer wants to be with you, or you with them. Suddenly it felt like walking round the house with drawing pins in your shoes,” reports the Mirror.
He even confessed that their relationship had become so distant that he shaved all his hair off one night to see if she would notice – but if she did, she never mentioned it.
John tragically recounted his fears about his wife’s potential future relationships affecting his sons, stating: “The realisation cut me in half. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling as I tried to get wellies on the lads. No man wants to cry in front of his sons but it’s even worse when you don’t know why you’re doing it.”
Their marriage reignited in a most surprising manner post-separation. Melanie stumbled upon John’s comedy set at the Frog and Bucket 18 months after their split, where he comically spoke of missing her to the point of fantasising about keeping her head in a refrigerator, quipping: “I knew I’d miss her”.
Post-show, John recollected their heartfelt reunion: “We met up after the show and she said seeing me up there reminded her of me as I used to be. When I was a good laugh.”
They undertook counselling together and are still united today. Melanie played a crucial role in persuading him not to quit his comedy pursuits two years prior.
On the High Performance podcast, John revealed his moment of doubt regarding his career, confessing: “I was so close a couple of years ago to saying ‘I’ve had enough’. Financially, were were ok. I said ‘I don’t have to do this’.”
Yet, he echoed that leaving the stage life behind negatively impacted him.
“I just atrophied. I just found my relationship with the world getting smaller and smaller. And it was Melanie that just said, ‘Go and do a gig, don’t do a gig because you’re thinking of doing a tour, just go back and do a gig, because you’re a miserable git’. And honestly the zest I’ve got for it now is exactly the excitement I had when I began. I found myself again.”
