LONDON — Former Beatle Paul McCartney and his second wife, Heather Mills McCartney, said Wednesday they are separating after nearly four years of marriage, citing pressures from the media and insisting their split is amicable.
"Having tried exceptionally hard to make our relationship work given the daily pressures surrounding us, it is with sadness that we have decided to go our separate ways," a statement from the couple said. "Our parting is amicable and both of us still care about each other very much."
McCartney, 63, and Mills, 38, married in June 2002, four years after his former wife, Linda McCartney, died of breast cancer. McCartney and Mills had a daughter, Beatrice, in October 2003.
"Separation for any couple is difficult enough, but to have to go through this so publicly, especially with a small daughter, is immensely stressful," it added. "We hope, for the sake of our baby daughter, that we will be given some space and time to get through this difficult period."
McCartney's wealth was estimated at $1.5 billion by the Sunday Times in their annual list of Britain's richest people. The couple are believed not to have a prenuptial agreement.
In 2002, Heather Mills told Vanity Fair that McCartney didn't force her to sign a prenuptial agreement before their huge wedding — despite tabloid reports to the contrary.
Mills said she offered to sign an agreement, but that McCartney — who was worth more than $1 billion at the time — wouldn't allow it.
"I wanted to prove that I love him for him," she was quoted by the magazine as saying. "He said, 'I wouldn't let you."'
McCartney told the magazine that he knew some people would think he was being suckered by a gold digger.
"I"m not stupid," he told Vanity Fair. "Heather's a really nice person, or else I wouldn't be attracted in the least. She's great. But you're going to find people who are going to knock her, because the better story is the negative one."
Mills McCartney has been accused of meddling in her husband's career — such as the dismissal of his longtime publicist Geoff Baker — and even of influencing him on issues as diverse as dying his hair and plastic surgery.
In a statement on her personal Web site, Mills McCartney posted a note from McCartney blasting the press and denying the rumors.
"Although some of these articles can be funny, there are others that are plain malicious and you need to be strong not to be hurt by some of the cruel suggestions that flow from these peoples pens," the statement said.
Rumors of a rift between Mills-McCartney and the former Beatles' children — especially Stella McCartney — have circulated for years. The note on the Web site denied the gossip.
"The media sometimes suggests a rift between my kids and Heather, but in fact we get on great and anyone who knows our family can see this for themselves," McCartney wrote.
Mills is a former model and a vociferous animal rights campaigner who recently traveled with McCartney to eastern Canada to fight that country's seal hunt. The couple met in 1999 through Mills' charity, the Heather Mills Health Trust. She launched the trust after losing a leg in a motorcycle accident in 1993.
McCartney already has three children from his marriage to Linda, who died in 1998 — musician James, photographer Mary, and fashion designer Stella. He also has a stepdaughter, Heather, from Linda McCartney's first marriage.
I'm not surprised...I thought they were an odd couple to begin with.
I thought so too, I just think it's weird that they are splitting because of pressures from the media and the fact that they say they still care for one another very much. If you still care about each other that much wouldn't you try to make it work?
wildflower930 wrote: nunzi182 wrote: I'm not surprised...I thought they were an odd couple to begin with. I thought so too, I just think it's weird that they are splitting because of pressures from the media and the fact that they say they still care for one another very much. If you still care about each other that much wouldn't you try to make it work?
Yeah, I think so too. Also, wouldn't Paul McCartney have experienced even more intense media attention when he was younger and first married to Linda? I don't see how he could be under more pressure now. I feel sorry for him -- he seemed so lost when Linda died.
I'm sure this isn't about the media. That's just meaningless crap their reps say. But apparently Paul could lose up to 25% of his fortune... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060518/en_nm/mccartney_dc
i think someone should tell old guys do not marry blonde women thirty years younger then you. even if they are NOT gold diggers it just isn't going to work. . .
*i didn't know she was missing a leg. . . that is an odd fact that i find titilating.