Inside Tom Jones' life – broken marriage, A-list affairs and fat-shaming row

Sir Tom Jones has had a long and successful career that has spanned decades.

The legendary singer rose to prominence in the mid-1960s when he had several top 10 hits, including the smash hit It’s Not Unusual which soared to No1.

Despite being married to Melinda Rose Woodard from 1957 up until her death, the singer had countless affairs with a string of notable names.

His career by no means slowed down when he got older as he became a judge on BBC singing competition The Voice in 2012.

In 2017 however, the singer was embroiled in a fat-shaming row with the winner of the first season, Leanne Mitchell.

In honour of his 82nd birthday, Daily Star have looked into the controversial aspects of the Grammy-award winner’s life.

Broken marriage

Tom married his childhood sweetheart Melinda (Linda) in 1957 when he was just 16 years old.

Just a few months later, the couple welcomed their first and only child, Mark, and were enjoying a blissful married life.

Things began to change, however, when the Sex Bomb singer burst onto the music scene aged 24.

As her husband’s career skyrocketed, Linda is said to have confided in a friend that she “never felt good enough” to be Tom’s wife.

Throughout their 59-year-long marriage, the pair spent significant portions of it apart from one and other.

While her husband toured the world and was gaining plenty of female recognition, Linda remained at their home in Beverly Hills looking after their son.

Linda remained away from the spotlight, rarely watching her husbands concerts and chose not to accompany him when he received his OBE in 1998.

Sean Smith, Tom’s biographer stated that while the couple had been married for more than five decades, they had likely spent only one in each other’s company.

Linda lost her “short but fierce” battle with cancer aged 75 in 2016, leaving Tom devastated at losing the person who had stuck by him since he was a teenager.

Despite his string of affairs, the Delilah singer confessed that Linda was the only woman he ever loved.

A-list affairs

During his marriage to Linda, the singer admitted to bedding up to 250 women a year at the height of his career.

He also had a string of high-profile affairs, with one beginning in 1968 when he embarked on a two-year fling with Mary Wilson from The Supremes.

Tom stated that he remained close to Mary up until her death and she even shared a friendship with Linda.

He explained: “In those days in the 60s we did get close I must admit. I can’t deny that.”

“But she got to meet my wife because I was still happily married. Honestly. And they became friends. She became a friend of the family. She knew my son,” he added.

“What started off as a flirtatious thing turned into a genuine friendship and we stayed like that up until she passed away.”

The singer also had an affair with then-Miss World Marjorie Wallace.

His relationship with the then 19-year-old Marjorie was uncovered in 1976 when they were pictured kissing on a beach in Barbados.

The discovery of their affair had devastating consequences for Marjorie as pageant authorities stripped her of her title in 1974.

Tom ended their relationship when he realised his wife Linda would find out – who he later confirmed was understandably furious and heartbroken.

He previously stated: “I stood there and took it. She chinned me. I said, ‘Go ahead’. She punched and shouted.”

The singer explained he came to an arrangement with his wife in the late 1960s when she stopped going on the road with him, saying: “She doesn’t ask.”

After meeting aspiring model Katherine Berkery in a nightclub in 1987, the pair had a brief fling which resulted in being arguably his most controversial affair of all.

Three months after their fling, which is said to have lasted just a few days, Katherine discovered she was pregnant with Tom’s child and gave birth to a son, Jonathan Berkery.

In 1989, there was a fierce legal battle over the identity of Jonathan’s father, but after DNA testing, a court confirmed that Tom was Jonathan’s father.

Fat-shaming row

Sir Tom starred as a judge on the The Voice in 2012 and was visibly blown away by Leanne Mitchell.

He became Leanne’s mentor, guiding her through the show and watched proudly as she was crowned champion of the first series.

Leanne released her debut single Run to You in June 2012, however, her debut album released the following year was considered a “huge flop”.

The album reached No134 in the charts and she was dropped from her label in 2014.

In 2017, Tom suggested that Leanne’s weight was a factor in her downfall and that she got “too comfortable.”

Speaking to The Sun, he said: “When she first came on the show, I thought about [her] trimming down a bit but she had gotten comfortable in this holiday camp and she’d put on some weight from it – from what she was when she was younger and from footage from when she had a record deal from years before.”

“[She took] the opportunity of winning The Voice and a chance of getting a record deal which she did, but she put on more weight, got more comfortable with the boyfriend who then maybe became her husband,” he added.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk