Back in 1968, Paul McCartney and Jane Asher were the Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez of their day.
He was a member of the world's biggest band, selling millions of records across the globe, while she was a high profile actress, a shining star of the big screen. But after five years together, Jane split up with Paul in perhaps the most high profile way possible.
Paul and Jane first met in 1963 as The Beatles were beginning to become household names in the UK. At the time, she was a prominent British actor and was no newcomer to fame herself, reports The Express. Cynthia Lennon - wife of Paul's bandmate and best friend, John Lennon - recalled the young singer falling in love with Jane extremely quickly,
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She wrote: "Paul fell like a ton of bricks for Jane. The first time I was introduced to her was at her home and she was sitting on Paul’s knee. My first impression of Jane was how beautiful and finely featured she was. Her mass of Titian-coloured hair cascaded around her face and shoulders, her pale complexion contrasting strongly with her dark clothes and shining hair.
"Paul was obviously as proud as a peacock with his new lady. For Paul, Jane Asher was a great prize."
Asher was only 17 at the time but was already quite famous. She was a child star after appearing in the Robin Hood TV series. She also had continuing appearances in BBC's Juke Box Jury.
Paul was completely head over heels for Jane. The upper-class beauty showed the star a different world from what he was used to.
He later said of her: "I met Jane Asher when she was sent by the Radio Times to cover a concert we were in at the Royal Albert Hall – we had a photo taken with her for the magazine and we all fancied her. We’d thought she was blonde, because we had only ever seen her on black-and-white telly doing Juke Box Jury, but she turned out to be a redhead. So it was: ‘Wow, you’re a redhead!’"
He added: "I tried pulling her, succeeded, and we were boyfriend and girlfriend for quite a long time."
Paul and Jane were together from 1963 to 1968. Towards the end of their relationship, however, he began to have a wandering eye.
In 1968 Paul started a secret affair with American star Francie Schwartz. Jane found out when she returned from an acting job early and found the Beatle in bed with Francie. Stunned, she stormed out and sent her mum back to retrieve her things.
Shortly thereafter, Jane appeared on the TV show Dee Time where she was asked about her relationship with the Beatle. She told the show's millions of viewers: "I haven’t broken it off, but it is broken off, finished."
This devastating sentence was followed by an even more heart-wrenching comment. She added: "I know it sounds corny, but we still see each other and love each other, but it hasn’t worked out. Perhaps we’ll be childhood sweethearts and meet again and get married when we’re about 70."
Paul has since spoken candidly about his relationship with Jane. He said: "We had a good relationship. Even with touring, there were enough occasions to keep a reasonable relationship going. To tell the truth, the women at that time got side-lined. Now it would be seen as very chauvinist of us."
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