New biopic Back to Black has reignited interest in iconic British singer Amy Winehouse, who long died before her time in 2011. the new movie chronicles her notorious relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, played in the movie by Jack O’Connell. Fielder-Civil’s impact on Winehouse’s health, finances, and mental state remains enormously controversial and he’s largely despised by both Winehouse’s family and her fans.
But what happened to him after her death, and where is he now? Strap in, because this is a rather sad and depressing tale.
Amy and Blake
Amy and Blake met in a London pub in 2005 and sparks flew. The two were soon inseparable and, on May 18 2007 they married each other in an impromptu ceremony on Miami Beach, Florida. Their marriage was drug-fuelled, violent, and chaotic. The pair were often seen sporting bloody injuries, Fielder introduced Winehouse to crack cocaine and heroin, and (as Fielder claimed) the pair used to self-harm to ease withdrawal pain.
Things came to a head for Fielder-Civil on July 21 2008 when he was imprisoned for a year after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice and grievous bodily harm with intent after assaulting a pub landlord. Winehouse and Fielder divorced in July 2009 and he received no money in the settlement.
Soon after the divorce Fielder entered rehab, where he met his next partner Sarah Aspin. The two had a child together, but afterward, he reconnected with Winehouse and the pair apparently planned to remarry. Those plans were squashed by Fielder being sent back to prison in 2011 for burglary and possession of a firearm. He was behind bars on the day of her death, July 20, 2011.
Blake’s life after Amy
Fielder was prevented from attending Winehouse’s funeral and said “I’m beyond inconsolable… my tears won’t dry.”. Since then he’s lived a quiet life in Leeds, UK. In 2015 he was interviewed, said he was clean and had been regularly attending Narcotics Anonymous, but that he feels intense guilt over introducing Winehouse to heroin. However, he refused to accept responsibility for ruining her life, saying:
“I don’t think I ruined her, no. I think we found each other and certain people need to realise that she did have other addictions before she met me. She wasn’t a happy, well-adjusted young woman, you know, and I find it disrespectful to imply I was some Machiavellian puppet master. It sounds so ‘woe is me’, but in a way, I’ve sacrificed a lot for those years with Amy… I almost feel like I’m being punished… If Amy were around now, she would still have the same issues. It’s what made her who she was, what made her so funny, or brittle, or pithy, or warm – all those good and bad things about her. It was who she was.”
In 2016 Fielder appears to have relapsed and ended up in the ICU. By 2019 he was accused of rubbing salt into the wound when he made a £1 million claim to her remaining estate. Winehouse’s family was disgusted, pointing out he’d received a £250,000 payoff after the divorce and saying he “deserves nothing” and that he’d brought “nothing but pain to everyone”.
In November 2019 a fire broke out at Fielder’s apartment in Leeds, with his neighbors reporting he was smoking crack cocaine inside. He was arrested on suspicion of arson but not charged, with a neighbor saying “I hope they lock him up and he doesn’t come back.”
More recently he seems to have turned over a new leaf for real. Fielder is now in a “serious relationship” with his new partner Bay Wright, with whom he now co-habits. More tragedy was on the horizon though, as 2022 Fielder’s younger brother Freddy died of a heroin overdose at age 27 after escaping from a mental hospital.
Fielder last appeared in public in Sept 2023 on Good Morning Britain to mark what would have been Winehouse’s 40th birthday. When quizzed on their relationship he said “I think about her all the time, I thought about her this morning when I said my happy birthday to her, she was my best friend.”
And when asked if he’d do anything differently if he could go back: “almost everything”.
