Heather Mills has been described as a porn star; a shop-lifter; a prostitute; a convicted thief; and a compulsive liar. Perhaps above all, she has been condemned as a straightforward gold-digger – who was able somehow to ensnare one of the world’s best-loved entertainers.
But before she married Sir Paul McCartney – in Ireland, in 2002 – Heather Mills had enjoyed a very different reputation. She was regularly celebrated in the British press as a plucky young woman, who had survived the loss of her leg in a horrific motor-bike accident, and who refused to play the limited role that seemed to be expected of a disabled person.
Even before her accident, Heather Mills had campaigned against the use of landmines. Following her amputation, she set up her own charitable trust, and increased her commitment to a range of other humanitarian causes. She also worked extensively in TV; she wrote an autobiography – which became a best-seller in Ireland and the UK; and she even managed to continue her career as a model. Gerry Ryan travelled to a small village in Austria to interview Heather Mills about some of the events in her extraordinary life.
In this edition of Ryan Confidential, she tells him about her unstable and traumatic childhood. She explains why she became a glamour model, and her eventual involvement in soft-porn. She also describes how she first fell in love with McCartney, and discusses what it was like to be married to an “icon” of modern culture – and why their marriage eventually fell apart. She talks about some of her most controversial media appearances – as well as the physical challenge which competing on shows like Dancing on Ice has meant for her.
This Ryan Confidential offers an exclusive insight into the mind of a complex, and driven woman: a woman who seems to have been praised and reviled, liked and despised, in almost equal measure.