Why Mick Jagger And Jerry Hall Never Actually Got Divorced
When Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger first collided, they were at the top of their games — and in relationships with other people. Hall was a leggy supermodel with a Texan drawl, a penchant for boogying at Studio 54, and a fiancé named Bryan Ferry. Jagger was a pouty singer shaking things up with his edgy blues-influenced music, a love for sex, drugs, and rock n' roll, and a wife called Bianca Jagger.
They met when Mick invited Ferry and his squeeze for dinner at his and Bianca's pad in 1976. Mick (figuratively) ate Hall up at first sight. "Bryan was flattered by Mick's attention, but he could also see that Mick was smitten with me," she wrote in "Jerry Hall: My Life in Pictures" (via Yahoo!). "It couldn't have been nice for him." Hopefully, Ferry had a tasty meal, at least.
Hall and Mick's relationship was nearly a non-starter after she was "disgusted" to learn he smoked heroin and took acid. "I told him I couldn't see him if he took drugs, saying, 'Go away and don't come back until you're straight.' He succeeded – he had amazing willpower," she wrote in her book (via The Telegraph). Clearly, as Tatler notes, the couple had four kids, Lizzy, James, Georgia, and Gabriel Jagger. They also found time to jet off to Bali and get married in 1991. Then after 23 years together, Hall filed for divorce in 1999, according to In Style. However, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall never actually got divorced. Wait, what?
Turns out that Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall were never actually legally married
"My mother said it was simple to keep a man: You must be a maid in the living room, a cook in the kitchen, and a w***e in the bedroom. I said I'd hire the other two and take care of the bedroom bit," Jerry Hall once famously vowed (via Forbes). However, Mick Jagger appeared incapable of remaining faithful. "In our society, we're supposed to be monogamous, but we're not," he told ABC.
"I thought Mick would eventually change, but he didn't ... millions of girls throw themselves at him, and he's in the position where he says yes," Hall told Radio Times. She eventually filed for divorce in 1999, citing "adultery" after Jagger fathered a child with Luciana Morad. Hall demanded £30 million ($37 million) of Jagger's estimated £150 million ($185 million) fortune. But, according to The Guardian, Jagger claimed their Balinese wedding wasn't legally recognized in the UK, so they'd never actually been married.
After months of legal wrangling, they agreed on an annulment and a financial settlement that hopefully left Hall laughing all the way to the bank. With the legal stuff out of the way, the two were able to become great friends. Hall told The Guardian they have "big Christmas get-togethers; with all the mums and all the children, and it's wonderful." Per Amo Mama, Jagger has eight kids from five women, five grandkids, and three great-grandkids, so we're betting it's a huge table.
Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall both moved on
Jerry Hall was plunged into a "dark hole" following her split from Mick Jagger. "Getting a divorce is always horrible because you feel you've failed," she told The Guardian. "Everyone hates to give up on a marriage." Hall said Jagger had been "a problematic husband" but that he'd "served his purpose" by giving her four kids. She was eventually ready to move on to pastures anew. "I like a pioneer man. Bring home the meat. The huntin', shootin', fishin' kind," Hall told Culture Map. So, it was bewildering when she married Rupert Murdoch.
Aside from his sweet nature, dashing good looks, and renowned charm, people wondered what had attracted Hall to the multi-billionaire. "No more tweets for ten days or ever! Feel like the luckiest AND happiest man in the world," the media-mogul posted in 2016 following news of their engagement. Daily Mail reports that Murdoch ended his and Hall's marriage via text in 2022. He allegedly dumped her because she smoked.
Meanwhile, Jagger continued to serve his purpose by fathering another child in 2016. Jagger started seeing his girlfriend, Melanie Hamrick, in 2014. According to Amo Mama, the rocker and the ballerina — who is 43 years his junior — met backstage at a Rolling Stones concert. At the time, he was dating fashion designer L'Wren Scott, who tragically took her life months later. Per GQ, The Stones filed an $8 million insurance claim because Scott's death "caused the group to postpone their tour."
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