McCartney ties the knot for third time

FORMER Beatle, Paul McCartney, and American heiress, Nancy Shevell, were married yesterday, emerging joyously from a 45-minute civil ceremony to be showered with confetti from fans.

The pop icon raised his bride’s arm in triumph as they blew kisses to the hundreds of fans and paparazzi waiting on the steps of the Old Marylebone Town Hall for the big event.

Shevell, with a white flower in her long dark hair, wore an elegant, understated above-the-knee gown designed by McCartney’s daughter, Stella. He wore a blue suit, a pale blue tie, and a gigantic grin.

The former mop-top wore his tinted hair longish for the occasion, bringing back memories of the days when girls swooned as he sang All My Loving and other boy-meets-girl hits.

The loving couple, beaming and relaxed, drove off in a burgundy Lexus for a gala reception at their nearby home in the St John’s Wood neighbourhood. Champagne and cake awaited, along with guests like Ringo Starr, in a casual black T-shirt under his fitted suit, and his wife, the actress Barbara Bach.

There was a bit of déjà vu for McCartney — he married his first wife, Linda Eastman, at the same place in 1969, breaking the hearts of teenage girls throughout much of the world.

Details of the ceremony have not been released. Press reports suggest McCartney’s younger brother Mike served as best man and his young daughter Beatrice as flower girl.

A tent had been set up at McCartney’s house, and party decorations were delivered for a reception after the ceremony.

Shevell, 51, is McCartney’s third wife. They were engaged earlier this year. The couple met in the Hamptons in Long Island, New York, shortly after the singer’s divorce from Heather Mills in 2008.

It is Shevell’s second marriage. She seemed relaxed and radiant as she arrived for the ceremony, waving easily to the crowd.

Shevell, who is independently wealthy, was married for more than 20 years to solicitor Bruce Blakeman and serves on the board of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. She also is vice-president of a lucrative New Jersey trucking company owned by her father.

McCartney married Eastman, a talented photographer who specialised in rock ‘n’ roll portraits, at the height of the hippie era, when the Beatles were at the apex of their global fame. Her life was cut short by breast cancer in 1998.

Mills then entered the picture. They married in 2002 at a gala affair at Castle Leslie in Co Monaghan, and soon after had a daughter. But the marriage collapsed and ended with a bitter divorce in 2008.

Mills publicly accused McCartney of cruelty and sought a $250 million (€187m) divorce settlement, but the judge sided with McCartney, calling her claims exorbitant.

The British public, enamoured with McCartney since his early Beatle days, also sided with the singer.

The case offered a rare glimpse into the magnitude of McCartney’s fortune.

Court papers filed by McCartney at the time indicated he had a net worth of approximately $800m, including a valuable collection of art works with paintings by Picasso and Renoir, along with many other assets.