Sir Tom Jones is famous for his long-standing music career, and songs such as What’s New Pussycat, Sex Bomb and Delilah. The 78-year-old is still touring today, in the United States, Europe and across the UK. However, his fame found him more than just fans, as it has been revealed the pop star had numerous affairs outside of his marriage.
Tom and Linda married in 1957, after meeting as teenagers. The couple had one son together, Mark Woodward who was born just months after their wedding.
Linda died in 2016 after a “short but fierce” battle with cancer, and despite his hundreds of affairs Tom often referred to Linda as the “love of my life”.
At the height of his career, Tom confessed to sleeping with more than 259 groupies a year – including a couple of high profile affairs.
One such affair was with Mary Wilson, a founding member of American girl group The Supremes, another was with TV host Charlotte Laws.
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Tom Jones wife: Tom Jones’ wife Linda was angry when his affair made the headlines (Image: GETTY)
Tom also had relationships with former Miss World Majorie Wallace, and Cassandra Peterson – known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark – confessed to losing her virginity to the Delilah singer.
One affair made headlines around the world, and Linda, who had stood by her husband despite his womanising ways, snapped after seeing the fling reported in papers.
Tom revealed his wife had lashed out at him during an interview on American television.
He said: “She beat me up physically one night. I said, ‘Look, I’m sorry,’ and she’d got the newspaper there.
“She said, ‘You…’ I said, ‘There it is [pointing at chin],’ and she went ‘Bang!’ And then started kicking me.”
In a 2016 interview before his wife’s death, Tom was branded sexist for saying that his wife, Linda, had “lost her spark”.
He defended himself saying: “I didn’t say, ‘Linda has lost her spark’. I said, ‘Linda feels she’s lost her spark.’ It’s not the same thing.
“She has emphysema and she’s not happy with the way she looks.
Tom Jones wife: Tom and Linda were childhood sweethearts (Image: GETTY)
“I carry a young picture of her wherever I go because it’s a wonderful memory.
“But not because she looks better on it. I’ve asked her if I can take a new picture and carry that around, but she doesn’t want me to.
“I did say I love talking to her on the phone because when we talk on the phone we’re young again. Age doesn’t matter on the phone.”
During the same interview, the It’s Not Unusual singer was asked if he carried any regret for the affairs he had, including his relationships with Marjorie Wallace and Mary Wilson.
Tom Jones wife: Linda died in 2016 after a battle with cancer (Image: GETTY)
The Welshman said: “No, because I never hurt anybody, it never backfired on me.”
In response to his comments, Sir Tom was accused of sexism and labelled a “womanising egotist”.
It was in his autobiography, however, that Tom said his wife is the only woman he has ever loved.
Tom wrote he had “never had that feeling for anyone else, I don’t think you can fall in love more than once”.