Ringo Starr Believed in Destiny After Surviving a Near-Fatal Car Crash 

Ringo Starr knew he was destined to be with his second wife, Barbara Bach, after they survived a car crash. The crash was severe enough that they both could have died. Despite this, both of them walked away with relatively minor injuries. They have been together for decades after deciding they never wanted to be apart when they survived.

The Beatles drummer met his wife on a movie set

Starr and his first wife, Maureen Starkey, divorced in 1975 after she had an affair with Starr’s Beatles bandmate, George Harrison. Five years later, Starr met Bach on the set of the film Caveman. Like Starr, Bach had been previously married, and both of them had children.

“The truth is, we weren’t together until the very end of Caveman,” Bach said in 1981, per People. “Working, we got along fine, but we each had other people, our respective friends. Then, all of a sudden, within a week — the last week of shooting — it just happened. We changed from friendly love to being in love.”

Neither of them had wanted to marry again, but they made an exception for each other.

“We both had the same philosophy, neither one ever wanting to marry again,” she said. “Richard [Starr’s birth name] already has three children, aged 10 to 13. Quite honestly, I never thought I’d be so lucky, to fall so much in love that I’d want to do the whole thing over. My family was shocked.”

Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach were in a near-fatal car crash

On May 19, 1980, Starr and Bach were driving to a party in England. As it had been raining, the road was wet, and the car skidded off the road. Per the book Ringo: With a Little Help by Michael Starr, the vehicle hit two lamp posts, rolled, and ended up on the opposite side of the highway. 

In the crash, Starr was thrown from the car, but managed to get up with only a minor leg injury. He pulled Bach from the wrecked vehicle, but she also had shockingly few injuries. She had several cuts and bruises and a wrenched back, but they were minor enough that she was able to walk.

“We had a crash,” Starr told reporters at the scene. “It’s cool.”

Ringo Starr took the car crash as a sign that his relationship was destined to be

Starr may have been nonchalant when speaking to reporters after the accident, but it had a definite effect on his relationship with Bach. After surviving what could have been a fatal accident, Starr felt that they were destined to be together. 

“It was a miracle that we both got out alive and that Barbara’s beauty wasn’t scarred,” he said. “As soon as I could, I went and played the drums to see if I could still play. I’m still the best.”

The couple married less than a year later and have remained together since.