Exclusive! Neil Diamond Discusses May-December Marriage with Parade Magazine
Neil Diamond, 71, recently married for the third time--to a woman 29 years his junior, his co-manager, Katie McNeil. And according to a new interview with Parade magazine, which Yahoo! Music has exclusively obtained, he really thinks the third time is the charm, proclaiming, "I've found the woman of my dreams."
In his interview, Neil expressed regrets regarding his first two marriages, to Jayne Posner (1963-69) and Marcia Murphey (1969-1995), saying: "I had every possible chance to do it right. Both are spectacular women. I felt if I couldn't make something wonderful and lifelong happen with them, then maybe I wasn't capable of it. But I'm throwing myself back in because I like being married. I don't want to end this whole fabulous journey alone. I want someone by my side who I love and who loves me. I've finally found somebody who's up to the task of being my wife, because I'm very...high-maintenance."
[Watch Neil Diamond's music videos]
High-maintenance? How so? Neil explained to Parade: "Well, when I need my wife or when I need companionship or someone to talk to, I need it, like, now. So my wife will have to give up whatever she's doing at that moment to tend to my needs. And in the same way, I would tend to hers. That's not such an easy thing to do."
Diamond's new wife confessed to Parade that she was actually worried about what she was getting into. "Part of me said, 'Don't get involved; he's a client,'" said Katie. "There are a lot of complications for a lot of reasons. But our chemistry grew into something that couldn't be denied."
[See Katie McNeil's wedding dress]
As for that nearly three-decade age difference between himself and his 42-year-old bride, Neil shrugged, "I definitely don't feel like I'm 71. I feel like I did when I was between 30 and 40. The body ages. The mind doesn't."
Neil Diamond's full Parade interview hits newsstands this weekend.
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