Kate Beckinsale’s tribute to her stepdad just hit a new emotional depth, as the actress marked the one-year anniversary of Roy Battersby’s passing with a raw, heartbreaking message. The Underworld star took to Instagram over Easter weekend to open up about her grief, admitting that losing Roy has left her utterly drained and haunted.
Roy, a respected British TV director, passed away in January 2024 at the age of 87. Kate, who lost her biological father, Richard Beckinsale, when she was just five, has spoken before about how these dual losses have left lasting emotional scars. In her latest post, she wrote, “Happy birthday, Roy. Given I’ve been waiting all day, can you rise again, ideally tomorrow … that would be great. You being dead is really f****** wearing now.”
The timing of her tribute, landing on what would’ve been Roy’s birthday, Easter Sunday, made it especially painful. Kate’s message was full of both dark humor and deep sorrow, revealing how the grief is far from fading. “I love you so very much,” she added, “and I wish you had been here to have your birthday and Easter on the same day… See you tomorrow. I shall be waiting at the mouth of the cave.”
In another emotional post, she reflected on both father figures she’s lost, saying, “Finding my father‘s dead body alone in the middle of the night at the age of five shaped my entire life. Seeing my beloved stepfather die a year ago today will haunt me forever.”
Kate explained that the past year has taken a toll on her mental health, her finances, and even her relationships. She called out the U.S. healthcare system, saying she lost “all the money I had due to how disgusting the American healthcare system is for those who are not insured.”
Still, through the pain, she found solace in Roy’s deep spiritual work, writing about his Jungian practices and how “thin the veil is between the energy of this life and whatever is next.” But she admitted that even this belief feels like a lie when the grief is this raw, adding, “Perhaps I am just unfortunately not enlightened enough to sell that to myself over my sense of loss, guilt, and failure.”
Kate Beckinsale’s stepdad tribute is one of the most brutally honest expressions of grief we’ve seen in a while.