Jon Richardson has said he is quitting comedy and taking up teaching, a sharp turn for the 43-year-old who spent nearly a decade in the public eye with Lucy Beaumont. He said in April 2025 that he had already accepted a teaching job and had been doing some training.
Richardson’s move comes after he and Beaumont announced their divorce on 12 April 2024, saying they had separated after nine years of marriage. The pair married in April 2015, later moved from London to a converted farmhouse in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, and shared a daughter, Elsie, who was born in September 2016.
Richardson and Beaumont became familiar faces through Meet the Richardsons, which they co-wrote and starred in, as well as appearances on panel shows. For years, their relationship was part of the public story around both comedians, especially as they built a life outside London in Yorkshire and leaned into a quieter domestic setting that fed into their work.
That public version of the marriage ended with a joint statement that was careful, final and aimed above all at protecting their child. “After 9 years of marriage, we would like to announce that we have separated. We have jointly and amicably made the difficult decision to divorce and go our separate ways,” they said, adding that their “only priority is managing this difficult transition for our daughter” and asking for privacy so her well-being could be protected.
Richardson has since described the decision to step away from comedy as a choice to try something different after years in entertainment. “I’ve loved being a comedian, it was absolutely the right choice. But I’ve decided it would’ve been nice to try the other option, so that’s exactly what I’m gonna do,” he said, adding: “I’ve been doing some training, I’ve taken a teaching position. I will update you as and when I can. but that’s all from me for now, just to let you know where I’ve been. I’ll keep you posted.”
The tension in Richardson’s next chapter is obvious: he is leaving a career that made him a well-known comic and, for a time, part of one of the most visible couples in British entertainment. Beaumont has made clear she will not revisit the breakup, saying, “People might think I should talk about it because we were so public and everyone knew us as a couple, but I won't, and not because there's any animosity,” and adding that they had agreed not to discuss “anything to do with the marriage or each other.” For Richardson, the answer to what comes next is already set. He says he has accepted the teaching job and will keep fans posted as and when he can.
