I opened CNN today to see that Paul McCartney had officially filed for divorce from his second wife, Heather Mills McCarthy. The reason was “unreasonable behavior.” I had no idea you could file under that – maybe it is just in British courts. Heather’s spokesperson has said she intends to counter file in both England and the United States.
Paul’s first wife, long time love and band mate, photographer Linda Eastman McCartney, died of breast cancer in 1998. The very devoted couple had been married for almost 30 years. In 1999, Paul met former model and activist Heather Mills at a breast cancer function. Heather is an avid anti-landmines campaigner as she herself is an amputee. She lost her left leg just below the knee in a 1993 accident when she was hit while crossing the road in London by a police motorcycle. In 2002, the couple married in a lavish ceremony at Castle Leslie. Their only child, Beatrice Milly, was born in October 2003. But, all was not well from the beginning. There have always been rumors that Paul’s children by Linda did not approve of their new stepmum.
Since the announcement in May of their separation, there has been a lot of gossip about this high profile divorce. You no doubt heard that the couple had separated and the British press has been having a field day. British tabloids found questionable photographs of a much younger Heather. One news source even accused Heather of being a prostitute! She has also been accused of being a gold digger, only marrying Paul to get to his huge bankroll. Because there was no pre-nup, she may be in for a huge settlement. A British tabloid recently reported that a phone conversation between Stella McCartney and Paul, in which Stella has less than nice things to say about Heather, has come to Heather’s attention.
I think the whole thing is just sad. I was never a huge Beatle fan, possibly because I was born (1963) just as they were starting out, so I knew nothing of music before the Beatles. But I think Paul has always been a favorite of most people. He just celebrated his famed 64th birthday and there was much reference to the Beatles hit “When I am 64.” Unfortunately, 64 finds Paul in the mist of a nasty divorce. It is just sad to see this rock icon so vulnerable and alone.