George Harrison’s Ex-Wife, Pattie Boyd, Said ‘Everything Was Really for Him’
George Harrison‘s ex-wife, Pattie Boyd, claims “everything was really for him.” She had to drop many things in her life, being married to a Beatle, and no one prepared her for it.
George Harrison’s ex-wife was thrown into the deep end when she started dating him
The model/actor met George on the set of The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. It was love at first sight. Shortly after, Boyd broke up with her boyfriend to date George. The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, chaperoned the date.
Boyd realized that wouldn’t be the strangest thing to happen in her relationship with George.
During an interview for Harper’s Bazaar, Boyd told Taylor Swift that she initially had difficulty adjusting to being a Beatle girlfriend. No one prepared her for what was to come. Screaming fans wanted George and even assaulted her for taking him away from them.
“Nobody took on that role,” Boyd said. “Nobody thought that role would be significant for a start. I remember a journalist coming to our house one day and saying to George, ‘In all seriousness, when do you think the bubble is going to burst? When are the Beatles going to be finished?’
“If they thought that, there’s no reason anyone would think, ‘Ah, I’ll look after Pattie and guide her through what is going to be a tremendously difficult situation for a young girl to cope with.’ The only thing Brian Epstein, their manager, told me and the other wives and girlfriends was, ‘Don’t talk to the press.'”
Eventually, George’s ex-wife realized that it was all about him.
George’s ex-wife realized it was all about him
Through all of it, Boyd struggled with insecurities that stemmed from her childhood. She told The Telegraph, “I had to take a deep breath and know and understand that I have to put one foot forward and move, otherwise the universe is not going to help me.”
It didn’t help that George was famous and received a lot of scrutinies. “People wanted to meet George, and they’d want to meet me, and I’d feel very insecure,” Boyd said. “And so I had to force myself to bring out what was hidden inside me.”
However, she began to realize that it wasn’t about her. Eventually, George persuaded her to leave modeling behind. “I’m probably an old fashioned girl at heart, that the man is the king of the house,” she said, “and so I didn’t expect to be on the same par as George, obviously, but everything was really for him.”
Boyd had to figure herself out after leaving George
Eventually, Boyd left George for alleged infidelities and other issues.
“I felt that I had to leave George because things were getting really out of hand,” Boyd said. “George was just being a different George. We had gone in different directions, basically. But we still loved each other… It’s just that I think he wanted to spread his wings and take advantage of being the handsome, famous, rich guy that he was, and see how the girls feel about him. A hot-blooded boy – why not, I suppose.”
Boyd turned to the comfort of George’s friend, Eric Clapton, who had been in love with her for years. They married in 1979, but eventually, that marriage broke down too.
After her two high-profile marriages, Boyd felt out of place. She’d been thrown in the deep end dating a Beatle. Then, she dated and married another great rock star. Opportunities came to her quicker, but life happened faster.
Suddenly, she was a two-time divorcee and felt like she had no identity. The model/actor said it “took time and experiences to work out who I was.”
The Telegraph wrote, “The trauma of her two divorces hit hard, and her self-esteem crashed.” Boyd explained, “Well, I was no longer Mrs. Famous George, or Mrs. Famous Eric, so who am I? I am no-one. No-one knows me – I don’t even know me.
“I was at a critical point in my life, and so I saw a psychotherapist who was quite wonderful. She was amazing. She guided me out of this mire of despond and gradually I learned to believe in myself.”
Boyd is now a New York Times Best Selling author for Wonderful Tonight. She shows her readers that anyone can persevere through tough times.
