Melia McEnery Is Eric Clapton's Second Wife: What We Know About Her and Their Relationship

After meeting at a party in the late 1990s, Eric Clapton and Melia McEnery celebrated almost twenty years of marriage, despite their significant age gap of over thirty years.

While her husband has had a successful career as a musician with thirteen Grammy awards and years in the music industry, Melia has steered clear of the limelight.

The couple also kept the first year of their relationship under wraps before announcing their romance. And since then, Melia has supported Eric's music career and stood by his side through his battle with addiction.

Melia McEnery and Eric Clapton Met at a Party

Melia was born on February 1, 1976, in Columbus, Ohio, to a mother of Korean-Irish descent and a father of Scottish-English descent. However, their identity has not been revealed, and it is unclear whether she has siblings.

While working as an Armani sales executive, Melia threw a party for the designer brand in 1998, and Eric was in attendance, as he was friends with the designer Giorgio Armani.

Melia made the first move when she approached Eric and asked for an autograph, informing him that her uncle was a fan of his. Eric said:

"I started asking her out, and we became friends. And with her, I found I was able to respond to something that was actually good for me."

The three-time Rock Hall of Fame inductee admitted to having a history of being a womanizer and getting into relationships with multiple women to avoid being alone. He recalled how he would be in a room, and if he saw another woman, it would be like a magnetic pull.

However, that all changed when he met Melia, and the rock legend said he realized he needed to be comfortable with himself to be a good partner.

Melia McEnery Was Twice Younger than Her Husband on Their Wedding Day

Melia and Eric married on January 1, 2002, at St. Mary Magdalene Church in his hometown in England. While Melia was 25 on her wedding day, her new husband was thirty-one years her senior.

But despite their age gap, Eric said during an interview in 2005 that Melia was the first woman he had been in a relationship with whom he genuinely viewed as an equal. While reminiscing about the first time they met, Eric said:

"There was something about her... strength. She occupied her space with absolute authority. It was clear that even though she was half my age, she was capable of being an adequate partner for anybody."

Their special day also served as the baptism of one of their daughters, Julie Rose, who was six months old, and Eric's older daughter from a previous relationship.

Melia and Eric Have 3 Daughters Together

Of Eric's five children, he shares three daughters with Melia. His eldest daughter, Ruth, was born during the musician's affair with Yvonne Kelly, the AIR Studios Montserrat manager, in 1984.

The public did not know Eric was Ruth's father until it was revealed in 1991. In 2013, Ruth welcomed his grandson, Isaac Eric Owen Bartlett.

Eric and Yvonne tried for more children during their relationship but suffered multiple miscarriages. In 1986, he welcomed his second child, a son, Conor, with Italian model Lory Del Santo.

However, Conor was four when he fell to his death out of an open bedroom window on the 53rd floor of a Manhattan apartment building in 1991. Following the death of his son, Eric made the song "Tears in Heaven."

Eric and Melia welcomed their first daughter, Julie Rose, in 2001, followed by Ella May in 2003 and Sophie Belle in 2005.

Eric Clapton on His Relationship with Melia McEnery

Over the years, Melia has supported Eric in more ways than one. In 1998, Eric founded Crossroads Centre, a rehabilitation located in the Caribbean that offered a safe and supportive environment for addicts.

Eric founded the center after his experience with addiction, which he candidly revealed affected how he treated his first wife, Pattie Boyd, who was previously married to his late friend Beatle George Harrison.

Eric said he was a "full-blown, practicing alcoholic" while with Pattie and had "no concern for other people at all." However, that was one of many things that changed when he met Melia.

She showed her support for his rehabilitation center by working as the center's Senior Clinical Advisor and is as supportive of his music career. In 2005, Eric shared during an interview that her favorite song on his album "Back Home" was "Run Home To Me." He said:

"She only has to hear the opening, and she starts to cry. Me too, because that song is about us sitting on the stony beach in Bognor in winter. It was cold but beautiful, and nobody was there, and it was the most real picture I had of us becoming a family."

Melia was also by Eric Clapton's side during his health problems. During an interview in 2015, Eric said Melia ensured he was on a healthy diet, including juicing and kale.