I'm no Liz Taylor insists Sinead as she vows not to wed again
Singer opens heart and denies 16-day marriage to drug worker was a stunt
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By Mark Hilliard
Thursday Dec 29 2011
SINEAD O'Connor has no desire to emulate eight times married Elizabeth Taylor, insisting she will never marry again.
But she will remain good friends with her ex-husband Barry Herridge. Speaking to the Irish Independent last night, she also dismissed any notion that her 16-day marriage was a publicity stunt. The singer claimed the decision to end her relationship with Mr Herridge (38) was extremely difficult but said the pressure made it like "living in a coffin".
"It's a Solomon's choice; the whole reason I walked away from the marriage was out of love and respect for him," she revealed. Insisting she would never betray her husband's privacy, she remained determined to protect him, but wanted to be clear on the reasons for the marriage ending.
"I don't do publicity stunts; why would anyone get married for a publicity stunt?" she said.
"Even if I did it, the stupidest thing you could cook up would be marriage number four."
In an extensive interview, the singer revealed:
* The truth behind her disastrous search for marijuana in the aftermath of her Las Vegas wedding.
* That she is not yet ready to take off her wedding ring.
* That the pair will remain good friends and that she will never marry again.
Ms O'Connor announced through her website on Tuesday that the couple's marriage had come to an end due to pressures being put on him by certain people in his life.
"It's an occupational hazard and I am beginning to get the message now," she said of the difficulties of married life as a rock star.
"My mate said to me, 'well, you have two more to go before you catch up with Elizabeth Taylor'. I certainly won't get married again."
MARIJAUNA
Speaking at her home in Bray, Co Wicklow, the singer revealed how moments after her Vegas wedding, she wanted to get some marijuana for herself for her wedding night
Her new husband, who works as an addiction counsellor for children, was clearly upset by her actions.
"We ended up in a cab down in some place that was quite dangerous," Ms O'Connor explained.
"Now I wasn't scared 'cos I'm a kind of rock 'n' roller and I am used to it. But I mean, he is a drugs counsellor for children for Christ's sake, you know, what was I thinking? The cabbie was freaking out and everybody else was freaking out and they were all thinking, 'we're all going to be shot'."
"When the first guy disappeared with her money another man came over and offered to help. Next thing he comes back and puts a lump of crack in my hand! And I'm like, 'what the f**k is that?'."
"I was like, 'I don't want that!'," she said.
And she admits that "it probably wasn't the wisest thing to do, considering what he does for a living, so that wasn't too good and kind of messed everything up a bit really".
"It was a dangerous area and if I were on my own then I wouldn't have been freaked because I always feel very protected and safe and I have been in many dangerous situations.
"Perhaps it was a bit selfish not realising it would be a bit scary for him, and because of his job."
But the singer said she believed the marriage was doomed anyway. "It would be impossible for him to be happy in the circumstances where he would be put under the kind of pressure that I have seen him being put under by certain people," she said.
"I am really glad I married him even if it was short because I do love him. I feel terrible to upset him."
And she compared the brief marriage to "living in a coffin", adding "I don't mean that as a reflection on him; it was what was done to him . . . that he was weighed down by."
Mr Herridge was not aware of the posting that was to appear on the website, and Ms O'Connor insisted that he should now be left alone.
"Even though I have been in the music business for quite a while, it takes a long time to learn that it's not easy for men to come into my life," she said.
"It's not a question of fair or unfair (to me); when you do what I do for a living it's a question of being fair to the people who are private people."
- Mark Hilliard
Irish Independent
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