Neil Diamond Lost A Ton Of Money In His Divorce From Second Wife Marcia Murphey

Neil Diamond is one of the most successful musicians to date, with one Grammy win under his belt and more than 130 million records sold since the start of his career in the '60s. Diamond picked up his first guitar when he was 16 years old and began taking lessons. While in college, he landed a job writing songs for Sunbeam Music Publishing. He then landed a recording contract with Bang Records in the mid-1960s, and switched over to Uni Records a few years later, where he would go on to record his well-known hits "Sweet Caroline" and "Song Sung Blue."

By the time he made it big in the music industry, Diamond was already married to his high school sweetheart, Jayne Posner. They went on to have two daughters, Marjorie and Elyn. Diamond and Posner separated in 1967, and finalized their divorce in 1969. That same year, the singer married his second wife, Marcia Murphey, with whom he shares his sons Jesse and Micah. Diamond and Murphey stayed married for 25 years and when they divorced in 1995, he had to pay her a hefty sum.

Neil Diamond has many regrets about his divorce from Marcia Murphey, but giving away half his fortune isn't one of them. After 25 years of marriage, the former television production assistant filed for divorce from Diamond and walked away with a rumored $150 million. Almost a decade later, Diamond revealed the sum to be untrue but admitted it was a good amount of money. "She got enough to live on for the rest of her life," he told the Daily Mail. When asked if he felt guilty about how his marriage ended, he shared, "Somewhat. It's true. I did feel bad. I don't have many feelings about my divorce now because it was 20 years ago." Diamond still keeps in touch with Murphey but only when necessary. "When it's called for. To talk about the kids. Sometimes to talk about other things," he stated.

Despite the ambiguous large sum Diamond had to shell out, he has no hard feelings about his ex-wife and has said that she's "worth every penny." After the divorce, the singer-songwriter struggled with his feelings of guilt and turned to doing what he loves to help him heal.

Music helped Neil Diamond come to terms with his divorce and he worked on his new album, "Tennesee Moon," as an outlet. "Creating this music helped me vent some of the feelings of guilt and failure I took on. It was better than going to a psychiatrist — more private," he described to People. "Twenty-five years on the road, working in studios all night. I think a woman needs more attention than I was able to give. I blame myself, absolutely," Diamond declared. He described his ex-wife Marcia Murphey as his "rock," who he "was always able to return to" after touring. Unfortunately, he stopped meeting her needs due to his busy schedule.

Diamond wasn't looking for love when he met his third wife, Katie McNeil, whom he married in 2012. However, he admitted to Parade that he liked the married life. "I don't want to end this whole fabulous journey alone. I want someone by my side who I love and who loves me. I've finally found somebody who's up to the task of being my wife," he declared. This time, he's vowed to make his marriage work and McNeil will be his last.