Sir Paul McCartney. The most famous member of The Beatles. Millions of fans go crazy when the crooner comes to stage. The Beatles have changed the history of music in the UK, and their impact on world music is also tremendous. Their music Videos have triggered a revolution in the field of audiovisual accompaniment to music. And till date, The Beatles have not gone out of fashion.
Sir Paul, like all celebrities, had a chequered life. Fame and controversy have dogged him faithfully for decades now. He had never really been out of the news, but his divorce with Heather Mills had raised a storm again last year, and the dust has not subsided yet. It was not very different from other celebrity divorces of Britain – a glamorous couple, a cute child, flashing camera bulbs, smart-looking lawyers – and no mutual mud-slinging when it comes to a division of the ample assets. What has marked this divorce as ‘different’ is the way in which the two of them conducted themselves. Their post-divorce story is worth narrating to all those who have a bitter divorce, and wonder whether their children would be affected by it.
Their Marriage
Sir Paul had gone to grace a charity event for the Heather Mills Health Trust in 1999. Heather, a successful model, had lost her leg when a police motor cycle had hit her. The Trust campaigned against land mines and recycled prosthetic limbs. Sir Paul fell in love with the feisty model, and their courtship ended in a fairy tale wedding in 2002. The venue chosen was the 17th Century castle Leslie in Glaslough, Ireland. There were horse-drawn coaches for the couple, helicopters flew in guests, and a dance floor was erected beside a beautiful lakeside. Sir Paul refused to draw up a prenuptial agreement with Heather, since he found it ‘unromantic’. The fairy tale that started on that heady evening in Ireland was not to last.
If the details of the ‘unreasonable conduct’, as released by Mills’ lawyers are to be believed, Sir Paul had not conducted himself with grace or dignity at all. He had got drunk and tried to strangle her. He had again tried choking her when she had complained that he was smoking marijuana. He had apparently not been sensitive about her physical handicap either. As tabloids eagerly flashed the seamier details of their by now adequately ‘unromantic’ liaison, Sir Paul spluttered in anger and Heather grew increasingly stony. She was also claiming a sizable chunk of Sir Paul’s ample assets, since she would be taking care of their small daughter, Beatrice. Finally, at thirty million pounds, they seem to have gone back to the ‘amicable’ agreement with which they had started the divorce.
The Cementing Factor
Apparently, the main factor behind easing the tension was their three-year old daughter, Bea. They had refused to meet each other and a nanny was hired to ferry the child from one warring parent to the other. Obviously, this was having a negative effect on the child, and both parents decided to forgo their battle with each other for her sake. The clauses of their truce include a pledge from Sir Paul that his lawyers will put in final touches to the divorce deal in a way that pleases Heather. It also has a counter promise from her that she would not go away to the USA with Bea to pursue her career there.
Their last meeting was at a posh London Bistro where the couple conducted themselves with great aplomb, chatting and laughing, while Sir Paul played with Bea. It was a far cry from the two people who had handed their child out to each other through nannies a few months ago, because they could not even stand to meet for a few minutes.
The Forecast
Sir Paul will be celebrating his sixty-fifth birthday on June 18. There would be a cake, presents from Heather and Bea, and a proper family occasion is being planned. He is also getting ready to release his twenty-first album, while Heather is planning to make a comeback as a media personality.
The moral of their story is clear. No matter how awful your divorce is, you can steer through it and show your mettle to the world if you value anything that the relation had given you at one time. By making up with Heather, Sir Paul has sent out a message as strong as one of his songs and he has lived up to it.
