Ringo Starr Gave George Harrison’s Wife a Job When He Saw How Bad Their Marriage Had Gotten
In his lifetime, George Harrison was a part of more than one love triangle, and one involved his bandmate, Ringo Starr. Even before Harrison admitted to having an affair with Starr’s wife, Maureen Starkey, his relationship with his wife, Pattie Boyd, was souring. Starr, who was initially oblivious to the affair, could sense something was wrong between Harrison and Boyd. He offered Boyd a job as a way of helping her.
Ringo Starr’s wife had an affair with George Harrison
Boyd and Harrison had been growing distant for a while, but her final straw was the realization that Harrison and Starkey were having an affair.
“Maureen would turn up to Friar Park at midnight and I would say, ‘What the hell are you doing here?'” Boyd wrote in her book Wonderful Tonight.
Boyd would claim she was on her way to listen to Harrison in the home studio, but she’d still be in the house the following day.
“That whole period was insane,” Boyd wrote. “Our lives were fueled by alcohol and cocaine, and so it was with everyone who came into our sphere. Friar Park was a madhouse.”
He offered her a job to help her out
As the affair continued on, any remaining stability in Boyd and Harrison’s marriage eroded away. At a New Year’s Eve Party in 1974, Harrison told her that in the upcoming year, they should get a divorce. Starr realized how fraught relations had become between them, and he wanted to help Boyd.
“Ringo realized that things were bad between George and me and offered me a job, which helped take my mind off my problems,” she explained. “He was playing Merlin the Magician in a musical comedy he made with Harry Nilsson called Son of Dracula. He asked me to take the stills shots.”
While Boyd appreciated the gesture, the film was a disaster.
“The film was produced by Apple Films and was so bad that it was hardly ever shown,” she wrote.
Pattie Boyd told Ringo Starr his wife was having an affair with George Harrison
Starr was initially oblivious of the ongoing affair between Starkey and Harrison. Boyd said she eventually broke the news to him.
“Ringo didn’t have a clue what was going on until I rang him one day and said, ‘Have you ever thought about why your wife doesn’t come home at night? It’s because she’s here!'” Boyd wrote. “And he flew into a rage.”
Harrison continued to deny the affair with Starkey, but he eventually admitted that he was in love with Starr’s wife.
“Ringo worked himself up into a terrible state and went about saying, ‘Nothing is real, nothing is real,'” Boyd explained. “I was furious. I went straight out and dyed my hair red.”
Though Boyd was aware of the affair, it would have stung to hear her husband finally admit to it after a long period of denial.
