Maureen Starkey Was Ringo Starr's First Wife and the Mother of His Children

Not much is known about Ringo Starr's first marriage to Maureen Starkey, especially when comparing it to Starr's second marriage, which garnered considerable attention that continues to this day.

Ringo Starr's second marriage to Barbara Bach is still going strong after their 1981 wedding. With his legendary status, and Bach's success in the entertainment industry, their relationship received much more attention than Starr's first marriage.

Bach, born Mary Cox, and Sir Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr, wed in February 1965, five years after the formation of The Beatles.

Maureen Starkey Was Just 16 When She First Met Ringo Starr

The love story of Maureen Starkey and her future husband, Ringo Starr, began when they met in 1962. At the time, she dated Ringo's bandmate from the Hurricanes, Johnny Guitar, but that did not stop Starr from being attracted and eventually falling for the "brunette young hairdresser."

The two first met at The Carven Club, a nightclub in Liverpool. The club had become a popular scene among rock and roll enthusiasts in the 1960s. The Hurricanes and the Beatles made regular appearances at the club, and it was during these appearances that Starr fell in love with Starkey.

After Starr left the Hurricanes and joined the Beatles, his interest in Maureen continued. He eventually asked her out for a date after having driven Maureen and her friend home for six weeks. It marked the start of a 13-year relationship between the two.

Maureen Starkey and Ringo Starr Get Married

Although Maureen was still young, born on August 4, 1946, her parents knew about their daughter's relationship with the Beatles drummer. In 1963, they gave her permission to travel to Greece for a vacation with her then-boyfriend along with Paul McCartney and his girlfriend, Jane Asher.

After three years of being together and Maureen having just turned 18 a few months before, the young couple married in February 1965. Still, the decision to get married is said to have been primarily forced upon them by Maureen's pregnancy. Ringo later commented on getting married:

"All this stuff about drink milk and not get married... Well, I’ve always been the marrying type. Anyway, I was rich already so it didn’t matter."

Maureen and Starr's Early Years of Marriage

The marriage seemed to be going on well during the first few years. Although Starr would talk about his marriage publicly occasionally, Maureen kept to herself and did not want to speak to the press. A rule she held until 1988 when she had an interview with a French magazine called "Le Chroniqueur."

Meanwhile, during all the trouble in the Starkey household, George Harrison, Starr's Beatles bandmate developed a strong affection for Maureen.

In a 1968 interview that reporter Maureen Cleave had with Ringo Starr at the couple's mansion in Sunny Heights, she observed that the couple were loving and always stayed close to each other. She recalled that Starr showed his affection for her by always lighting "two cigarettes simultaneously, one for her and one for him."

Maureen's marriage to Ringo Wasn't the Happy One

Maureen and Starr had three children, two sons and one daughter. The first is Zak, born on September 13, 1965. Followed by Jason on August 19, 1967, and lastly, daughter Lee Parkin on November 11, 1970. All of them were born in London, where their parents had moved from Liverpool in the early 1960s.

When Lee Parkin was born in 1970, the marriage between her parents was already breaking down. Ringo Starr was said to have been the leading cause of this, as he had numerous mistresses and a drinking problem. Around the same time the marriage began to fail, Starr's career with the Beatles was also shaking.

Those failures were likely to hurt Starr. In 1995, Starr confessed his infidelity, alcoholism, and physically violating of Maureen. However, Maureen still painted him as a peaceful and caring man, even after their divorce.

George Harrison Had a Crush on Maureen Starkey

Meanwhile, during all the trouble in the Starkey household, George Harrison, Starr's Beatles bandmate, developed a strong affection for Maureen. Starr had also developed feelings for Maureen while she dated his bandmate Johnny Guitar.

Unfortunately, due to complications that arose after the bone marrow transplant, Maureen died on December 30, 1994.

While visiting their home, Harrison proclaimed his feelings for Maureen. The two began a secret relationship that George's wife discovered, who had caught them in bed. Patti, George's wife, told Starr about the affair. However, the marriage continued for a few more years until 1975, when they finally divorced.

Ringo Starr Was by Maureen's Side When She Died

After divorcing Ringo Starr, Maureen Starkey began a relationship with American entrepreneur Isaac Tigrett. Maureen and Tigrett moved in together in the United States of America in 1976. They welcomed their only child, daughter Augusta King on January 4, 1987.

On September 7, 1985, Maureen's first grandchild, Tatia Jayne Starkey, was born to her eldest son, Zak, and his partner Sarah. Of the seven children that her children have, Tatia was the only grandchild she got to see before she passed on.

Admitted to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center on October 20, 1994, Maureen Starkey Tigrett received treatment for leukemia. A bone marrow transplant from her son, Zak, was used as part of her treatment.

Unfortunately, due to complications that arose after the bone marrow transplant, Maureen died on December 30, 1994, with her four children, her mother and ex-husband, Starr, by her bedside. Paul McCartney's song "Little Willow" was written in her memory and released on his 1997 album, "Flaming Pie."