Post by TotalInformation on Mar 17, 2005 5:46:22 GMT
DAILY MAIL (London)
March 14, 2005
Her burning ambition for TV success is being fulfilled. He posts bizarre defences of her on the Net. So is Heather Mills turning billy McCartney into a henpecked husband ?
---------------------------
ALISON BOSHOFF; NATASHA COURTENAY-SMITH
----------------------------
WHAT a busy year it's been for Lady Mills-McCartney. March has barely blown in, and already she has sat on the panel of BBC Question's Time alongside the likes of heavyweights including Winston Churchill's grandson Nicholas Soames and MP Diane Abbott.
She has made two live appearances on GMTV from the European Parliament in Brussels, to draw attention to the trade in dog and cat fur between China and Europe. She is also working on a series of programmes for Classic FM with her brother.
This week sees her on the front cover of Hello! magazine. Sprawled across its centre pages in a lacy black strapless dress by Roland Nivelais, she holds forth on how - amid claims from friends that she is due to announce her second pregnancy - motherhood is the hardest job. Meanwhile, there is her much publicised charitable work, her life as a busy mother, and fitting in five hour-long workouts a week come 'rain, sleet or snow' as she undergoes the onerous task of travelling between homes in Britain, LA and New York (she has a different personal trainer at all three of them).
Certainly, the second wife of Paul McCartney has no shortage of self-belief, ambition - and an unfaltering determination to be taken seriously.
Indeed, she admits herself, her ultimate dream is to host her own TV show and she is still hoping that her appearance on the Larry King chat show last year - her performance was derided by many observers - will lead to some more television work. 'Presenting is what I did for years before meeting Paul and I'm looking forward to doing more in the future,' she says.
Given her unique position - her extensive charitable work, coupled with the status that is automatically hers as the wife of Paul McCartney and has enabled her to rub shoulders with Bill Clinton, Russian President Putin, former President Gorbachev, Colin Powell and the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan - there is no reason that Heather shouldn't have high hopes for her future.
It's a view which is, of course, only strengthened by the fact that her chief cheerleader in her quest is her loyal husband, who generally makes a point of being there whenever Heather undertakes media work.
In fact, the fascinating balance of power within the marriage is also serving to fuel Heather's ambition.
The question is whether Paul will step back and allow his wife to take centre stage, while at the same time attempt to boost her popularity from behind the scenes. Certainly, it seems that thus far, this may well be the case.
It goes almost without saying that he is her greatest fan and supporter.
Indeed, it seems there is nothing that he wouldn't do for Heather Mills McCartney, 37, the striking blonde he married in June 2002.
HIS LOVE for her is every bit as intense and physical as it was when he made her his wife, and the arrival of baby Beatrice, now 14 months old, has had a rejuvenating effect on him.
'He is very, very romantic and very, very thoughtful,' says Heather with proud satisfaction. His uxoriousness is so evident that it is a good running joke among his friends, who find it amusing to see the 62-year-old billing and cooing like a teenager.
He is an inveterate bottom-patter.
'He's always got his arm around Heather, he's always giving her a squeeze and a pat,' says one associate.
'He's the sort of husband who will take his wife out to dinner every night and never get bored with her company.' And, it seems, he is also the sort of husband who is happy to prove his love in public over and over again.
For, on the eve of his appearance at the American Super Bowl last month (an appearance beamed to 144 million people) Macca was not to be found resting up, or making any conventional preparations to perform.
Instead, he was seated at a computer keyboard penning a passionate 800-word article which he posted on Heather's official website the night before the big game. The article, intended as a defence of Heather, is an oddity, indeed - billy never, during his long and happy marriage to Linda, felt moved to respond publicly to negative press about her.
Linda and Paul took a decision to let the jibes and jealousies wash over them, to ignore them, even though at their height - at the time of the couple's wedding - they were hurtful, indeed.
BUT now that he is married to Heather - a woman who is far more media-minded than gentle-natured Linda - that strategy has been ditched.
Titled simply 'A note from Paul' the message must go down as one of the most peculiar romantic gestures imaginable. It is a curious rant about everything from hair dye to plastic surgery. The tone is aggrieved, whining even, and unmistakably self-righteous.
Some in the McCartney camp say that it is evidence of Heather's 'Snow White complex' - a reflection of her desire to play the damsel in distress, and billy's relish in playing her knight on a white charger.
These voices say that the drama of billy riding to Heather's rescue is one which is played out over and over in the relationship.
What is certainly true is that it has been written out of love for his wife - and that the timing was such that it paved the way for Heather's appearance on BBC television last month.
'One person in particular that some of the media can be wildly wrong about is my wife Heather, and it hurts me to see her wounded by these scurrilous reports, and not have anyone to put the record straight,' billy says on the website.
'Because of this I thought that it would be a good idea to tell the people who care about us, and believe in what we do, the truth about some of these ridiculous stories . . . here are my thoughts on a few of the points mentioned in them.' At this point the reader imagines that he is about to address the worst of what has been said about Heather Mills since their romance began in 1999.
He will surely tackle some of the wilder claims about their relationship and Heather's life before they met.
But no. Instead billy addresses, in this order, the following issues: his dyed hair, his former PR man Geoff Baker, the Lennon/McCartney credits, his children's relationship with Heather, their appearance on Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, their social life and his alleged plastic surgery.
There is no substantive comment on his relationship with his wife and, indeed, barely a mention of Heather's excellent charitable record.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
March 14, 2005
Her burning ambition for TV success is being fulfilled. He posts bizarre defences of her on the Net. So is Heather Mills turning billy McCartney into a henpecked husband ?
---------------------------
ALISON BOSHOFF; NATASHA COURTENAY-SMITH
----------------------------
WHAT a busy year it's been for Lady Mills-McCartney. March has barely blown in, and already she has sat on the panel of BBC Question's Time alongside the likes of heavyweights including Winston Churchill's grandson Nicholas Soames and MP Diane Abbott.
She has made two live appearances on GMTV from the European Parliament in Brussels, to draw attention to the trade in dog and cat fur between China and Europe. She is also working on a series of programmes for Classic FM with her brother.
This week sees her on the front cover of Hello! magazine. Sprawled across its centre pages in a lacy black strapless dress by Roland Nivelais, she holds forth on how - amid claims from friends that she is due to announce her second pregnancy - motherhood is the hardest job. Meanwhile, there is her much publicised charitable work, her life as a busy mother, and fitting in five hour-long workouts a week come 'rain, sleet or snow' as she undergoes the onerous task of travelling between homes in Britain, LA and New York (she has a different personal trainer at all three of them).
Certainly, the second wife of Paul McCartney has no shortage of self-belief, ambition - and an unfaltering determination to be taken seriously.
Indeed, she admits herself, her ultimate dream is to host her own TV show and she is still hoping that her appearance on the Larry King chat show last year - her performance was derided by many observers - will lead to some more television work. 'Presenting is what I did for years before meeting Paul and I'm looking forward to doing more in the future,' she says.
Given her unique position - her extensive charitable work, coupled with the status that is automatically hers as the wife of Paul McCartney and has enabled her to rub shoulders with Bill Clinton, Russian President Putin, former President Gorbachev, Colin Powell and the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan - there is no reason that Heather shouldn't have high hopes for her future.
It's a view which is, of course, only strengthened by the fact that her chief cheerleader in her quest is her loyal husband, who generally makes a point of being there whenever Heather undertakes media work.
In fact, the fascinating balance of power within the marriage is also serving to fuel Heather's ambition.
The question is whether Paul will step back and allow his wife to take centre stage, while at the same time attempt to boost her popularity from behind the scenes. Certainly, it seems that thus far, this may well be the case.
It goes almost without saying that he is her greatest fan and supporter.
Indeed, it seems there is nothing that he wouldn't do for Heather Mills McCartney, 37, the striking blonde he married in June 2002.
HIS LOVE for her is every bit as intense and physical as it was when he made her his wife, and the arrival of baby Beatrice, now 14 months old, has had a rejuvenating effect on him.
'He is very, very romantic and very, very thoughtful,' says Heather with proud satisfaction. His uxoriousness is so evident that it is a good running joke among his friends, who find it amusing to see the 62-year-old billing and cooing like a teenager.
He is an inveterate bottom-patter.
'He's always got his arm around Heather, he's always giving her a squeeze and a pat,' says one associate.
'He's the sort of husband who will take his wife out to dinner every night and never get bored with her company.' And, it seems, he is also the sort of husband who is happy to prove his love in public over and over again.
For, on the eve of his appearance at the American Super Bowl last month (an appearance beamed to 144 million people) Macca was not to be found resting up, or making any conventional preparations to perform.
Instead, he was seated at a computer keyboard penning a passionate 800-word article which he posted on Heather's official website the night before the big game. The article, intended as a defence of Heather, is an oddity, indeed - billy never, during his long and happy marriage to Linda, felt moved to respond publicly to negative press about her.
Linda and Paul took a decision to let the jibes and jealousies wash over them, to ignore them, even though at their height - at the time of the couple's wedding - they were hurtful, indeed.
BUT now that he is married to Heather - a woman who is far more media-minded than gentle-natured Linda - that strategy has been ditched.
Titled simply 'A note from Paul' the message must go down as one of the most peculiar romantic gestures imaginable. It is a curious rant about everything from hair dye to plastic surgery. The tone is aggrieved, whining even, and unmistakably self-righteous.
Some in the McCartney camp say that it is evidence of Heather's 'Snow White complex' - a reflection of her desire to play the damsel in distress, and billy's relish in playing her knight on a white charger.
These voices say that the drama of billy riding to Heather's rescue is one which is played out over and over in the relationship.
What is certainly true is that it has been written out of love for his wife - and that the timing was such that it paved the way for Heather's appearance on BBC television last month.
'One person in particular that some of the media can be wildly wrong about is my wife Heather, and it hurts me to see her wounded by these scurrilous reports, and not have anyone to put the record straight,' billy says on the website.
'Because of this I thought that it would be a good idea to tell the people who care about us, and believe in what we do, the truth about some of these ridiculous stories . . . here are my thoughts on a few of the points mentioned in them.' At this point the reader imagines that he is about to address the worst of what has been said about Heather Mills since their romance began in 1999.
He will surely tackle some of the wilder claims about their relationship and Heather's life before they met.
But no. Instead billy addresses, in this order, the following issues: his dyed hair, his former PR man Geoff Baker, the Lennon/McCartney credits, his children's relationship with Heather, their appearance on Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, their social life and his alleged plastic surgery.
There is no substantive comment on his relationship with his wife and, indeed, barely a mention of Heather's excellent charitable record.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
