It sounds like a bad soap opera script. Two best friends, members of the biggest band in history, and a betrayal that should have ended a friendship forever. But when we talk about George Harrison and Ringo Starr's wife, Maureen Starkey, we’re looking at one of the weirdest, most tangled chapters of the Beatles' post-breakup years.
Honestly, the 1970s were a mess for the Fab Four. The "Summer of Love" was long gone. In its place was a haze of heavy drinking, cocaine, and a general sense of domestic collapse. While the world was busy mourning the end of the band, the former Beatles were busy blowing up their own personal lives.
The Night Everything Exploded
Imagine sitting at a dinner party. You’re Ringo Starr. You’re at your home, Tittenhurst Park, with your wife, Maureen. Your old bandmate George Harrison is there too. Suddenly, George looks you in the eye and says, "You know, Ringo, I’m in love with your wife."
That actually happened.
It wasn’t a joke. According to Chris O’Dell, a close friend and Apple employee who was there that night, the room went dead silent. Ringo, in typical Ringo fashion, didn't punch him. He didn't scream. He reportedly just looked at George and said, "Better you than someone we don't know."
It’s a wild response, but you have to understand the headspace these guys were in. By 1973, everyone was cheating. Ringo was drinking heavily and was far from a faithful husband. George’s marriage to Pattie Boyd was already on life support. The boundaries of "normal" behavior had basically evaporated under the weight of unimaginable fame.
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Behind the Bedroom Doors at Friar Park
The affair wasn’t just a one-night thing. It was a messy, lingering "emotional entanglement" (as Maureen supposedly called it) that took place right under the noses of their respective spouses.
Pattie Boyd, George’s wife at the time, eventually caught them. She didn't need a private investigator; the clues were everywhere. Once, she found Maureen staying at their mansion, Friar Park, for an entire weekend while Pattie was away. Another time, Pattie arrived home to find George and Maureen locked in a bedroom.
When she pounded on the door, George eventually opened it and casually told her Maureen was just "tired and lying down."
Talk about gaslighting.
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Pattie later wrote in her memoir, Wonderful Tonight, that this affair was the final straw. She had dealt with George’s infidelities before—he was famously "red-blooded," as Paul McCartney once put it—but sleeping with his best friend’s wife was a line he couldn't uncross. Soon after, Pattie left George for his other best friend, Eric Clapton.
Why Did George Do It?
It’s the question every fan asks. Why would the "Spiritual Beatle" do something so clearly against his own teachings?
The truth is complex. George was a man of extremes. He could spend hours chanting and meditating, then spend the next several hours doing lines of cocaine and chasing women. By the early 70s, he was deeply disillusioned with his public image.
Some historians suggest that George saw Maureen as a stable, familiar presence. She was a Liverpool girl. She knew him before the world went crazy. There was a comfort there that his crumbling marriage with Pattie didn't offer. John Lennon was less sympathetic. When he heard about the affair, he reportedly described it as "virtual incest." To him, the Beatles' wives were sisters. You just didn't go there.
How the Friendship Survived
You’d think Ringo would never speak to George again. But surprisingly, their bond remained remarkably strong.
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Maybe it’s because Ringo knew his own hands weren't clean. He later admitted to being "a drunk, a wife-beater, and an absent father" during those dark years. He and Maureen eventually divorced in 1975, but they stayed close until her death from leukemia in 1994. Ringo was actually at her bedside when she passed away.
George and Ringo continued to record together. George wrote "It Don't Come Easy" and "Photograph" for Ringo, essentially handing him a solo career on a silver platter. They remained "brothers" until George’s death in 2001.
Fact-Checking the Folklore
There are a lot of rumors surrounding George Harrison and Ringo Starr's wife, so let's set the record straight on a few things:
- Did it cause the Beatles to break up? No. The affair started in the early 70s, well after the band had already split in 1970.
- Was it a secret? Not for long. George was surprisingly open about it once he confessed to Ringo.
- Did Ringo ever get revenge? Not really. Ringo moved on and eventually found lasting happiness with Barbara Bach, whom he married in 1981.
What This Tells Us About the Beatles Legacy
Looking back, the affair between George and Maureen serves as a reminder that these were just people. Very famous, very wealthy, and very flawed people.
They lived in a bubble where consequences felt optional. The "incestuous" nature of the Beatles' inner circle was a byproduct of isolation. When the only people who understand your life are the three other guys in the band, your worlds tend to collide in messy ways.
If you're digging into this history, don't just look for the scandal. Look at the resilience of the friendships. Despite the betrayals, the lawsuits, and the "virtual incest," the bond between the four men from Liverpool somehow survived the wreckage of the 1970s.
Next Steps for the Curious Historian
If you want to get the full, unvarnished story from the people who were actually in the room, start here:
- Read Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd. She gives the most visceral account of what it felt like to be on the receiving end of George's wandering eye.
- Check out Miss O'Dell by Chris O'Dell. She was the "insider" who witnessed the dinner party confession and offers a fly-on-the-wall perspective of the Friar Park madness.
- Listen to Ringo’s Stop and Smell the Roses album. It features George and Ringo working together years after the drama, proving that time (and perhaps a bit of 70s rock-and-roll logic) heals all wounds.