A trail of tears, broken hearts and the lure of the open road: How lasting happiness has eluded Mick Jagger in his turbulent love life

By Amelia Proud

PUBLISHED: 12:49 EST, 17 March 2014 | UPDATED: 19:42 EST, 17 March 2014

When Mick Jagger was just 23 years old, he shocked critics of his hedonistic swaggering rock music by penning lyrics of such hopeless despair that they were almost nihilistic.

Paint It Black, a huge hit in 1965 that endures today, tells the story of a lover so disillusioned with the world that he wants everything to be dark to fit his mood; a stark contrast to the psychedelia that was consuming pop music as the decade swung towards the Summer of Love. 

But perhaps more than any of his strutting anthems, this song would come to represent the dark side of the perennial poster boy for rock 'n' roll... and the turbulent love life that reached its cruellest hour on Monday when his long-term partner, L'Wren Scott, took her own life.

Scroll down for video

As Tears Go By: The darker songs of Mick Jagger's youth precursed the tragedies of his love life that culminated in the suicide of his long term partner L'Wren Scott on Monday

As Tears Go By: The darker songs of Mick Jagger's youth precursed the tragedies of his love life that culminated in the suicide of his long term partner L'Wren Scott on Monday

It had appeared that Jagger, now 70 and still touring the world, had found lasting happiness with the stunning designer, who was 49 - after more than a decade together.

Mick's roving eye throughout all of his relationships has been no secret - indeed, his roll call of conquests has almost lauded as a statement of rock 'n' roll excess.

But his devotion to Scott was such that last year when singer Katy Perry claimed the veteran star made a pass at her in the early days of their relationship, his camp vehemently denied it.

Perry, now 29, announced in an October radio interview that Jagger made a move on her when they worked together in 2003, and she was just 18; just two years into his relationship with talented L'Wren.

Sad news: Mick Jagger seen leaving Coco's Restaurant in Perth, Western Australia, just moments after hearing the news of girlfriend L'Wren Scott's death

Sad news: Mick Jagger seen leaving Coco's Restaurant in Perth, Western Australia, just moments after hearing the news of girlfriend L'Wren Scott's death

 
Some Girls: Mick with first wife Bianca Jagger and L'Wren at the annual Serpentine Summer Party in London's Hyde Park in June last year

Some Girls: Mick with first wife Bianca and L'Wren at the Serpentine Summer Party in London last June; Bianca issued a statement on Monday describing her heartbreak over the loss of the 'talented' fashion designer

Iconic: Mick and Marianne were the poster couple for the 60s but the excesses of that decade drove them apart and would continue to typify Mick's love life

Iconic: Mick and Marianne were the poster couple for the 60s but the excesses of that decade drove them apart and would continue to typify Mick's love life

This prompted his camp to take the unusual stance of issuing a no holds barred denial.

'Mick Jagger categorically denies that he has ever made a pass at Katy Perry,' a statement from his publicist read, signing off with the suggestion: 'Perhaps she is confusing him with someone else.'

Of course Jagger is known for his womanising ways and a colourful love life that has at times seemed as though it's frozen in the permissive decade that saw him catapult to fame.

His first high profile love was the the sister of model Jean Shrimpton, Chrissie; she was so besotted with Mick she took sleeping pills in an attempted overdose after he left her for singer Marianne Faithful; who he met when she was already married with a young son.

Marianne, who battled heroin addiction, ended her relationship with Mick in 1970 after becoming frustrated with the other constant stream of female admirers; and after losing custody of her son that same year, contemplated suicide herself.

Performance: Keith Richards' claims that Mick had an affair with his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg when they filmed 1970's Performance

Performance: Keith Richards' claims that Mick had an affair with his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg when they filmed 1970's Performance

The first Mrs Jagger: Bianca Pérez-Mora Macias married Mick in St Tropez in May, 1971, but it was shortlived

The first Mrs Jagger: Bianca Pérez-Mora Macias married Mick in St Tropez in May, 1971, but it was shortlived

A year earlier Marianne had swallowed 150 barbiturate tablets and was in a coma for six days after she claimed she'd seen the face of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones who was found dead at the age of 27 in his swimming pool.

Her words to Jagger upon waking 'wild horses wouldn't drag me away,' would become a hit song for the Stones in 1971 but just months later an Italian photographer did manage to separate her from Mick, just ahead of the infamous Altamont concert which saw Hells Angels' murder Meredith Hunter in the crowd mere metres ahead of the frontman. 

Those close to Mick say the concert atrocity and the loss of Marianne (thought they reunited briefly) changed him irrevocably; he turned to singer Marsha Hunt - who he'd dallied with while still dating Marianne - for solace and she bore his first child, a daughter called Karis, in November 1970.

He then wed Nicaraguan-born actress Bianca De Macias in 1971, but it was shortlived. The couple separated in 1977 and she filed for divorce citing adultery the following year.

Heartbreaking: Mick and Marianne's relationship was a casualty of the permissive '60s

Heartbreaking: Mick and Marianne's relationship was a casualty of the permissive '60s

It couple: Marianne left Mick for an Italian photographer, leaving him reeling

It couple: Marianne left Mick for an Italian photographer, leaving him reeling

Mick had already started dating model Jerry Hall before De Macias had filed for divorce, despite the fact she was already engaged to another iconic frontman, Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry.

Hall and Jagger finally married in 1990, but split nine years later after he had an extra-marital affair with Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez, who he had a love child with.

In total, Mick has seven children with four different women, including Jade Jagger from his first marriage. He had four children with Hall; his first child, daughter Karis, was from a relationship with American singer Marsha Hunt.

Add to that a string of other high profile women to who he has been romantically linked; Angelina Jolie, Janice Dickinson, Carla Bruni, Sophie Dahl... to name just a few.

This whirl of long-limbs, glossy manes and big names has all added grist to the mill of Mick as the archetypal macho rock star, but the truth - as it often is in these cases - is much more complicated.

Young love: Mick with Chrissie Shrimpton in 1966

Young love: Mick with Chrissie Shrimpton in 1966

Long-term love: Mick and Jerry were together for 23 years

Long-term love: Mick and Jerry were together for 23 years

Born in Dartford, Kent to teacher parents, the boy known then as Mike Jagger was a shy but sporty A student who loved to sing and based his signature wiggle on Marilyn Monroe after practising in his bedroom mirror for hours.

He was a massive hit with the ladies back then despite his scrawny frame, yet when Faithfull finally walked away from at the end of the 60s, it's said to have left him reeling.

Indeed, recently unearthed love letters between Mick and Marsha Hunt show a tender side he was keen to suppress. 

It seems that the caricature of the relentless lothario has proved to be the best defense of the poetic soul his lyrics often suggest him to be.

Which explains why the longest-standing love in Sir Michael Philip Jagger's life is the open road.

Paradise Found: Mick and Jerry were happy touring the world together but she says life on the road started to get in the way

Paradise Found: Mick and Jerry were happy touring the world together but she says life on the road started to get in the way

Love letters: Poetry and tender verse from Mick to Marsha Hunt emerged recently when she auctioned off their correspondence, he tried to suppress the personal missives

Love letters: Poetry and tender verse from Mick to Marsha Hunt emerged recently when she auctioned off their correspondence, he tried to suppress the personal missives

For all the women he's been able to resist over the years, another tour with The Rolling Stones - and the chance to become Jumpin' Jack Flash again -  has always been too tempting.

When Mick heard the 'heartbreaking and shocking' news about his long-term love, he was preparing for a show in Perth, Australia, alongside his long-term partner, and former school mate, Keith Richards.

Jerry, who was with Mick for 23 years, has revealed how his love of touring... and wandering eye, affected their union.

She wrote in her autobiography: 'Over ten years, the Stones staged five world tours. Mick started to miss important family events – children’s birthdays and our anniversary. I was heartbroken that he wasn’t home in time for the birth of our fourth child, Gabriel, in December 1997.'

'Mick called while I was in labour to say he was so sorry he could not be there. He arrived home a week later. Then, after a holiday, he went back to the band’s Bridges To Babylon tour.

But worse was to come.

Devoted dad: Mick wiith daughters Jade and Georgia May sit with L'Wren at the Serpentine party in London last June

Devoted dad: Mick wiith daughters Jade and Georgia May sit with L'Wren at the Serpentine party in London last June

Jumpin' Jack Flash: Mick's one constant has been The Rolling Stones and their still prolific touring schedule

Jumpin' Jack Flash: Mick's one constant has been The Rolling Stones and their still prolific touring schedule

Jerry wrote: 'When Mick eventually returned to London, he looked shaken. Luciana Morad, was pregnant with his baby. It was the final straw. I told him I wanted a divorce.'

By her own admission, Jerry sanguinely puts the failure of her long-standing relationship with the century's most iconic frontman down to incompatibility, and in her tell-all book revealed how civil the main women in Mick's life had become.

One gut-wrenching piece of praise, sees the Texan model admit she believed that Mick had found the perfect match in Utan-born L'Wren.

'I am good friends with his other exes, Marsha Hunt and Bianca Jagger.' Jerry explained.

'I’m also friends with Mick’s current partner, L’Wren Scott. To be honest, I think she’s better at dealing with him than I am. He needs a lot of adoration, which I wasn’t willing to give him.'


CELEBRITIES PAY TRIBUTE TO L'WREN SCOTT FOLLOWING HER SUICIDE

Bianca Jagger: 'Heartbroken to learn of the loss of the lovely and talented L'Wren Scott. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. May she rest in peace'

Naomi Campbell: 'I am deeply shocked and devastated by the news. L'Wren was someone I knew since I was 17. We travelled the world together many times. L'Wren was someone I always loved. She was the epitome of elegance and femininity yet still had a girlish quality. I will miss her honesty and I will miss her friendship. My heart goes out to Mick and all who loved her and were loved by her. May she Rest in Peace.'

Jo Wood: 'So shocked about L'Wren .. Can't believe it ..'

Leah Wood: 'I have just found out the awful news about #L'wrenScott.  Im so sorry.. May she rest in Peace...@RollingStones and all who knew her.x @lwrenscott you were a wonderful woman. May you rest in Peace...'

Anna Wintour: 'I am deeply saddened by the loss of L'Wren Scott. L'Wren was a total perfectionist, someone who absolutely embodied everything her marvelous clothes stood for: strength of character combined with a confident and powerful style. In person, L'Wren was always unbelievably generous, gracious, kind, and so much fun. Her old world American manners and charm were from another time, but her sensibility was always fiercely modern. We will all miss her.'

Nicole Kidman's rep: 'Nicole and L’Wren were close friends for 25 years. She is heartbroken and in shock right now, and unable to say anything.'

Olivia Munn: 'Shocked and saddened by the passing of @lwrenscott ... she was an amazing soul, talented artist and an unbelievably giving friend. RIP'

Bette Midler: 'Just got news of the beautiful L'wren Scott's death perhaps by her own hand.  I am devastated.  A rare, wonderful, talented soul. Goodbye.'

Emmy Rossum: ‘So sad to hear of the death of L'Wren Scott. What a beautiful woman and an incredible designer.’

Duran Duran: 'Such sad news. Our condolences are with L’Wren’s family and friends.'

Marc Jacobs: 'Rest in peace, L'Wren Scott. You'll forever be missed.'

Olivia Wilde: 'L'Wren Scott was brilliant, elegant, kind, and generous. S***. My heart goes out to her loved ones. What a tragedy.'

Alyssa Milano: 'Rest in Peace, beautiful L'Wren Scott,'

Selma Blair: 'You were a brilliant original.  And loved. And will be forever missed. Dearest L'Wren Scott.'

Christie Brinkley: 'Rest in Peace talented and elegant beauty L'Wren Scott.'

Bryan Adams: 'Devastated to have lost my friend L'wren. @lwrenscott Rest in peace my dear I'm gonna miss you. Condolences to all that were close to her.'

Evan Rachel Wood: 'I really admired L'Wren Scott. This is tragic.'

Rita Wilson: 'My heart goes out to friends & family of L'Wren Scott. You never know what sadness lies behind someone's public persona. Help is available.'

Sarah Jessica Parker: 'She was one who seemed to come naturally to joy. She was a joyous participant, a planner. She really enjoyed company and occasions. There was a delight to her that is hard to imagine extinguished. She didn't reveal another side to me but of course... we are all complex as human beings and I wouldn't have claimed to be privy to that other part of late. She had discipline, skill and talent and the recognition was an enormous source of pride for her because she waited so long and worked so diligently (on her career). She was a rare beauty and enjoyed being singular in a lot of ways. She will be genuinely missed in ways I can't even comprehend today. For those closest to her, sympathies are not enough. May she rest in peace, free of any worries.'

Madonna: This is a horrible and tragic loss. I'm so upset. I loved L'Wrens work and she was always so generous with me.'

Hilary Alexander: 'Tragic news of L'Wren Scott's suicide. RIP a much loved designer and fashion icon'

Piers Morgan: 'Awful breaking news about L'Wren Scott, Mick Jagger's girlfriend'

Elizabeth Hurley: 'Shocking news about L'Wren Scott. She was lovely, passionate and talented. RIP.'

Debi Mazar: 'R.I.P my dear L'Wren Scott. Im sick to hear this news.Amazing woman.Why why!!?? R.I.P L'Wren Scott.Wonderful woman,inspired.She will be greatly missed.Such a talent.So sad she has left us so soon'

Daphne Guinness: 'L’Wren was a great, true friend and human being, a remarkable and gifted talent and it saddens me deeply to know that I won’t see her again. A devastating loss for everyone who knew her and my thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this time'

Louise Roe: 'Such a tragic loss of an inspiring woman and incredible fashion talent, RIP L'Wren Scott.'

Bo Derek: 'RIP L'Wren Scott and thank you for making me feel beautiful. @lwrenscott  #L'WrenScott'

Katie Couric: 'So sad to hear'

Nina Garcia: 'Saddened over the loss of the very talented, generous and always gracious L'Wren Scott. You will be missed'

Mindy Kaling: 'Such terrible news about L'Wren Scott. She was an amazing designer.'

Stephen Jones: 'It was with great sadness today that I learnt the death of my dear friend L’Wren, whom I have known since we first worked together at Thierry Mugler in Paris in the mid 1980’s. We later became firm friends during her time in Hollywood at Vanity Fair and as fashion stylist to the Oscars. Recently we have had tremendous fun, each season collaborating on her own collections, exploring another fashion adventure be it Tuxedo Terrace, Tea-Time or my personal favourite, Yorkshire Pudding. L’Wren’s sense of dramatic glamour, long-limbed elegance and pizazz was celebrated in an exhibition we launched in Qatar last November. She dazzled her fans with her charming vivacity as much as her exquisitely embroidered dresses. I am proud to have known her and have been able to call her one of my closest friends.'

Comments (92)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

assuming he is unhappy or interprets his personal life as happiness having "eluded" him one can only say he is the maestro of his own misery and frankly quite a bit for many women. I believe he has finally "matured" out of the phase.. Under these circumstances it is fitting to leave the man and his family alone. One can only imagine what is going through his mind and at a time like this he does not need this idle speculation and rude inappropriate speculations into his affairs.

9
45
 Click to rate

How did this get to be about Mick Jagger?

5
86
 Click to rate

Seems to me as if he has had a whale of a time and not been unhappy!

3
33
 Click to rate

He looks hideous but to each his own, i guess.

11
39
 Click to rate

Honestly- what do these gorgeous women see in him?

10
54
 Click to rate

"The truth is much more complicated." No it's not. He got the happiness he wanted: a constant stream of no-strings-attached sex, a gaggle of foolish women to bear and raise his spawn, a life of utterly unfettered irresponsibility. I doubt this little glitch will put a cramp in his style.

13
62
 Click to rate

Thoroughly selfish man. What do you expect?

10
64
 Click to rate

How do you know he's not happy??? Not today, for sure, but maybe he's been doing what he wants all along....

2
40
 Click to rate

How do you know happiness has eluded him, DM? Perhaps this arrogant and selfish man-child is perfectly happy with the way he has led his life.

3
54
 Click to rate

Marianne Faithful in photos 7 and 8. WOW! Now I remember why we all wanted to look like her when we were young. The face of an angel. L'Wren Scott, RIP.

1
53
 Click to rate

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now