Real-life couple behind 'inspirational' summer biopic hit back at lying claims

Metro

2 days ago

Just weeks after Gillian Anderson starred in The Salt Path, adapted from Raynor Winn's bestselling memoir, reports have emerged questioning the truth behind the story.
The bestselling 2018 book details the inspirational 'real-life' tale of Raynor and her husband Moth claim they are evicted from their home (a farmhouse in Wales) after they are betrayed by their childhood friend over a bad investment.
Days later the latter is diagnosed with a terminal neurodegenerative condition – Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD) – and the couple decide to pack all their belongings on their back and begin a 630-mile trek along the South West Coastal path.
Penguin described the prize-winning novel as an 'unflinchingly honest, inspiring and life-affirming true story'.
The Sex Education star and White Lotus actor Jason Isaacs starred as the couple in a movie adaptation which came out at the end of May, flinging their story back into the spotlight.
Now, a new investigation from The Observer has unearthed claims that key elements of this tale have not been entirely truthful, although the real-life couple have called the following claims 'highly misleading'.
Delving into the financial claims made in the book, The Observer claims that the couple (real names Sally and Tim Walker) have not been fully transparent.
Per the investigation, Raynor was arrested for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of pounds (reportedly totally around £64,000) from her employer (an estate agent for whom she worked as a bookkeeper).
A relative of Moth's [James] claims he loaned the couple £100,000 to repay the stolen money in exchange for dropping the criminal charges.
This claim contradicts the narrative in the book which outlines that their financial issues stem from when they were forced to repay a debt they couldn't afford to one of Moth's childhood friends, Cooper, after a poor investment in one of his companies.
Unlike in The Salt Path which says James took them to court to recoup the debt, The Observer found the debt they owed to James was ultimately transferred to two men to whom he owed money.
'Her claims that it was all just a business deal that went wrong really upset me. When really she had embezzled the money from my husband. It made me feel sick,' Hemmings (wife of the man who Raynor is believed to have stole the £64,000 from) told the publication.
Meanwhile, although the book hinges on the idea that the Walkers were left effectively homeless, according to The Observer uncovered documents show that the couple owned a property in South West France which they had previously visited.
There has also been doubt cast over Moth's medical condition which he was first diagnosed with 18 years ago.
The NHS website says that this disease produces 'gradually worsening problems with movement, speech, memory and swallowing'.
It also confirms that there is currently 'no treatment' and 'the average life expectancy for someone with CBD is around six to eight years'.
Although the book explores the impact of this on Moth, over the course of the now three books Raynor has written detailing various walks the pair have undergone, his condition seems to have conversely improved.
Prof Michele Hu, a consultant neurologist and professor of clinical neurosciences at Oxford University, told The Observer that she would be 'very sceptical that it is corticobasal'.
In a statement to Metro, Raynor Winn's representative has refuted the claims made.
'Yesterday's Observer article is highly misleading. We are taking legal advice and won't be making any further comment at this time.
'The Salt Path lays bare the physical and spiritual journey Moth and I shared, an experience that transformed us completely and altered the course of our lives. This is the true story of our journey,' the statement reads.
The couple, now both in their 60s, confirmed they are no longer homeless.
In an interview with Country Living, Raynor said: 'After hearing our story, a kind stranger offered us a flat at the back of an old chapel.
'We moved to a beautiful Cornish village and Moth began a degree in horticulture and garden design. In many ways, we were so lucky…'
The author explained that she started writing The Salt Path as a way to commemorate what her and Moth had done as his 'illness progressed' and that she was encouraged to submit the manuscript by her daughter.
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She also credits the rewilding project on their Cornish farm with helping alleviate Moth's symptoms.
'As the landscape has become healthier, so has he. Nothing will cure his disease, but we've found a way to keep it at bay,' she added.
At the end of her third book, Landlines, which recounts the 1000-mile walk from Scotland to the South West Coast Path she explains that 'the old DAT scan [of Moth's brain] showing an abnormal reading, and this, the new one, showing a normal reading.'
Both Anderson, 56, and Isaacs, 62, have also shared their own thoughts on the real-life people they were portraying. More Trending
'I was surprised at how guarded she was. Of course, it must be strange: you've got two relatively famous actors who are going to play you showing up at your house.
'But it was interesting to encounter a certain steeliness. It was informative for me to see that,' the actor told the Guardian about her impressions of Raynor.
Describing his own time with Moth, Isaacs told Collider: ' He's the most lovely person I've ever met. Everyone who ever meets him falls completely in love with him. When you see the two of them together, they're so devoted to each other.'
Metro has reached out to Raynor Winn's, Gillian Anderson, Jason Isaacs' representatives, Black Bear and Penguin for comment.
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