KEY POINTS:
Until this week, I thought Heather Mills McCartney had been a bit hard done by. The presentable young woman who'd worked tirelessly for charity after losing a limb became the favourite target of the British press and her only crime seemed to be daring to marry a living
legend, former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.
It didn't help that Macca's kids couldn't stand their new step-mum. Their snide comments were gleefully reported and gossip mag consumers like me pursed our lips and wondered whether the children had a point - that she might indeed be a gold-digging harlot with a heart of stone.
And then there were those photos - images of Mills showing her simulating all sorts of sex acts with a German lad in a book called The Joys of Love, a 112-page volume of pictures which, the Sun newspaper breathlessly reported, had no words! I don't know. When a blonde is shiny with baby oil, sucking on her index finger, while a young stud busies himself downstairs, are any words necessary? I digress.
Lady Mills-McCartney rode through that one, Paul defended the honour of his blushing bride, and the marriage limped on. The inevitable separation four years down the track didn't go terribly well, but then what break-up does? Accusations and counter accusations were made, with Paul trying to remain dignified and Heather trying to paint herself as the victim.
But now, it's official: Mills is indeed a flaky gold-digging cow. The judge presiding over the divorce proceedings delivered an excoriating judgment that labelled Mills a less-than-impressive witness, devoid of reality and with a warped sense of her own importance.
Justice Bennett said her evidence was inconsistent and inaccurate and on occasion less than candid - judge-speak for "She's a bloody liar". He also said Mills was explosive and volatile, which she proved by tipping a glass of water over her ex-husband's lawyer's head at the close of proceedings.
Poor old Paul. He can't have had all his sorrows to seek in the one day. And it can't have been pleasant to be living proof that there is certainly no fool like an old one.
Despite receiving a very public telling off from the judge, Mills is not daunted. She's off to the United States where it's reported that she'll be a judge of the Miss USA competition. She's also rejigged her website to show clips of Hillary Clinton and Richard Branson pledging their support for her and the charity work she does. The fact that these clips were recorded years ago doesn't bother her a jot. The woman's a survivor. Now she's arrived in the public domain, nothing will get rid of her.
And as for Sir Paul - living legends have needs. But perhaps he should take up with someone his own age rather than being flattered by a woman young enough to be his daughter. Stevie Nicks appears to be on her own. Imagine the beautiful music those two could make.
