Paul and Linda McCartney’s marriage: The story behind their 30-year love story

15 July 2021, 16:10

See inside Paul and Linda McCartney's 30 year marriage...

After meeting in 1967, Paul and Linda McCartney spent three decades together before Linda sadly died.

Some of McCartney's biggest love songs such as 'My Love' and 'Maybe I'm Amazed', are said to be inspired by their relationship.

But how did the pair get together and when did they get married? Find out all about their love story…

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Paul and Linda met in a club

Paul McCartney met American photographer Linda Eastman in 1967 at a Georgie Fame concert at The Bag O'Nails nightclub in Soho, London.

Linda was on a work trip in the UK, where she was taking photographs of musicians for a book called Rock and Other Four-Letter Words.

After the pair made eye contact, Paul was determined to get Linda’s attention and managed to stop her just as she was leaving her table.

He previously told Barry Miles in the book Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now: "The band had finished and Linda got up to either leave or go for a drink or a pee or something, and she passed our table.

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"I stood up just as she was passing, blocking her exit. And so I said, 'Oh, sorry. Hi. How are you? How're you doing?' I introduced myself and said, 'We're going on to another club after this. Would you like to join us?'

“That was my big pulling line! Well, I'd never used it before, of course, but it worked this time! It was a fairly slim chance, but it worked."

They didn’t see each other for a year after meeting

After their first night together, Linda returned to the US to work and look after her daughter.

While Linda was across the pond, Paul actually got engaged to his girlfriend Jane Asher, but this didn’t last long and they soon split.

Paul and Linda didn’t meet again until a year later when The Beatles were in New York.

After that, Linda and her daughter Heather - who she shared with ex husband Joseph See - flew to London and she started dating Paul properly.

A short while later, Paul invited Linda to live with him in London with her daughter.

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The couple almost didn’t get married

Paul proposed to her after dating for a year, but they almost didn’t tie the knot after they got into a huge argument just hours before the big day.

McCartney previously told Ultimate Classic Rock: "We were crazy.

"We had a big argument the night before we got married, and it was nearly called off. We were very up and down, quite funky compared to the eventual image of '25 years of married bliss! Aren't they lucky for people in showbiz?'

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“But we are. You get this picture of us swanning along in a little rowboat, managing to avoid the white water, but we were right in the middle of that white water, man, so it's even more miraculous that we made it. But we did."

With The Beatles being the biggest group in the world at the time, it’s unsurprising that thousands of fans also turned up to the Marylebone registry office where they were getting married.

Despite trying to keep the ceremony secret, fans found out and there were so many people on the streets that the police had to escort the couple’s car.

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The McCartney’s went on to have three children together; Mary (b. 1969), Stella (b. 1971), and James (b. 1977), while Paul also adopted Linda’s daughter Heather.

Linda helped Paul after the Beatles split

When The Beatles broke up, Paul credits Linda for helping him get out of a very dark place.

He previously told Apple Music that he doesn’t know what would have happened if he hadn't had her by his side.

With Linda by his side, he made two more songs, with the track ‘Maybe I'm Amazed’ on his debut album dedicated to her.

Linda’s memory lives on

In 1998, Linda sadly passed away at the age of 56 following a battle with breast cancer.

She spent her last days in Tucson, Arizona, in the family ranch with Paul and their children.

Paul said in a statement at the time: "The kids and I were there when she crossed over.

"They each were able to tell her how much they loved her. Finally I said to her, 'You’re up on your beautiful Appaloosa stallion. It’s a fine spring day…and the sky is clear blue.'

“I had barely got to the end of the sentence when she closed her eyes and gently slipped away."

The star later said he cried for about a year following her passing, telling BBC: "You expect to see them walk in, this person you love, because you are so used to them.

“I cried a lot. It was almost embarrassing except it seemed the only thing to do."

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Now, with Paul married to his wife Nancy Shevel, he is determined to keep Linda’s memory alive.

In March of this year, he announced that he and his daughters, Mary and Stella, were releasing a new book, titled Linda's Family Kitchen.

A press release said, the cookbook will “bring Linda’s kitchen up to date, reinventing her best-loved recipes for the plant-based cook, alongside their favorite family stories and the dishes that they now eat at home.”