Heather: I Have "Nothing To Lose Anymore"
Heather Mills McCartney says just about everything she's done since she and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney split has been for the sake of the couple's daughter, Beatrice.
That includes staying mum about McCartney, even as she's been raked over the coals by the British press with stories she feels originate in the McCartney camp, and finally speaking out now, defending herself, and fighting back against the tabloids.
In an interview Thursday with Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen, McCartney's estranged wife expanded on comments she made Wednesday on ITV television in Britain.
"We've had death threats, I've been close to suicide. I'm so upset about this," she said on an ITV morning show. "I've had worse press than a pedophile or a murderer, and I've done nothing but charity for 20 years."
The couple announced their separation in May and began divorce proceedings in July. Their daughter, Beatrice, is now 3.
"They make up such lies," she tearfuly told ITV. "They've called me a whore, a gold digger, a fantasist, a liar -- the most unbelievably hurtful things -- and I've stayed quiet."
Mills McCartney stuck up for herself, telling Chen, "When I first left (McCartney), and he knows why (I left), and I have no choice, I said, 'I don't want a penny, just protect me. If you don't protect me, things are gonna be different, but just protect me, because I will be vilified. Everyone thinks you're perfect. You're human. You're not perfect. Just protect me.' That has not happened."
The McCartneys are in the midst of what long ago became a bitter battle that many observers feel could result in one of the biggest divorce settlements ever.Photos: Heather Mills McCartney
Mills McCartney told Chen she wants money now "because he's created millions of pounds worth of debt that I have ... incurred because of the libels, because of protecting myself, so no, that does not stand at all anymore. That's why we're in court, because I'm being told that I have to be gagged and not say a word, yet nobody's offering me any clearing of my name or any protection, and I'm not going to be abused like that. I'm just not."
She is pushing for a law to force media members to apologize when they report lies, and told Chen she has no regrets about speaking out: "This is not just about me. This is about many, many people who have written to me who have been abused by the press but don't have a platform to do anything. I feel very responsible. And seeing as I've had severe death threats, I've got nothing to lose anymore."
The death threats, she says, led to thoughts of suicide: "At first, I just felt so devastated. I felt suicidal. 'Cuz I thought, 'Well, if I'm dead, then she's with her father, and he's so, you know, adored that maybe she'll be safe with him.' But then I saw sense and thought, 'Well, yeah, she's gonna be without a mother.' So, it was a very difficult thing."
Why would anyone want to kill her? Because, she responded too Chen, "The press have written over 4,000 articles saying the worst thing that I've, you know, done to Paul. I've protected Paul from day one, and I've had virtually no protection from the other side. And I've kept quiet. ... And I've just had enough now. My friend said to me, 'For goodness' sake, you have to say something. She's (Beatrice) gonna be 12 and 13, reading these horrific lies on the Internet, and you've never spoke up. And what if something happened to you? You could never clear your name, and she's gonna live with that on the Internet for the rest of her life."
Mills McCartney also told Chen that, contrary to some press reports, she's "not close to a nervous breakdown. What I am now is revealing my emotions. I'm a human being. I'm not a robot. And I'm not fake, so if I'm gonna cry, I'm gonna cry. I'm not gonna pretend. I'm not manipulateing any situation. I'm just being real. I have been -- nobody can imagine unless they've been through it themselves what I've been through watching and listening to all these lies with actually no protection while I have protected the other party, when I could reveal unbelievable things that i never want to reveal because of my daughter.
"But at the moment, it's completely one-sided. My daughter has to read all these horrific things when she's older, and I'm not meant to stick up for myself. And if nobody else is going to stick up for me from our family, then I have to do it myself."
To see Chen's complete interview,
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