Tom Jones Did Not Regret Womanizing Ways as He Thought His Marriage Was ‘Solid’ His Son Still Loved Him

Despite having hundreds of affairs while married to Melinda, Tom Jones believed he’d done nothing abnormal for a musician. The star justified his infidelities by noting something his son couldn’t help but feel.

Tom Jones was eight years old when he fell in love with his future wife, Melinda. While the future star was running errands for his mother, he’d meet up with Melinda at the red telephone box at the bottom of the hill in their town in Wales.

Sometimes they met up at their local store. Tom was relentless for years in pursuing the little girl until she agreed to start dating him at age 15, with him saying how the road always led back to her.

Tom Jones in Paris, France, circa 1980. | Source: Getty Images

Melinda and Tom were opposites, with him being a rough local boy with undiagnosed dyslexia and not doing well at school. The future musician’s father was a coal miner and dreamt of becoming a famous star.

On the other hand, his girlfriend was brilliant and had an impressive work ethic. Melinda had a few dreams outside of her home in South Glamorgan, and little did she know that Tom’s talent would carry him far away.

Tom Jones with his wife Linda after arriving from Paris, France, on April 8, 1965. | Source: Getty Images

The young couple married when they were both 16 in 1957. At the time, Melinda was already eight months pregnant with their son, Mark, and to support them, Tom got a construction job which he worked on by day, and at night he pursued his true passion – music.

After sticking to his dream for years, in 1964, Melinda’s husband was discovered by Gordon Mills, a talent manager who’s since passed. Mills signed him up and gave him the stage name everyone uses today.

Tom Jones with his wife Melinda at Hanover Square, London, on March 10, 1965. | Source: Getty Images

In a previous interview, Tom revealed that he wasn’t making money when he first arrived in London to work on his music. His wife had to take a job working in a factory until he could start sending her money.

Melinda was honest with him about not liking the job but stuck with it because of her faith in Tom. The singer’s first single was “Chills and Fever,” but it didn’t give him much success.

However, when he released “It’s Not Unusual” in 1965, the track shot him to the top of the UK charts as he toured with Cilla Black, a British musician. Before finding out about his single’s success, Tom went out one night after a show.

He visited a pub with other Liverpool rock bands and was met by screaming girls outside. Melinda’s husband thought the girls were screaming for the other bands and walked out holding a pork pie without realizing what was happening.

Suddenly, the girls jumped on him and shredded his raincoat with frantic excitement! From that moment, Tom started gaining fame with several Top 10 UK hits in the mid-1960s.

By 1969, the star was seen as a sex symbol and got his variety television show called “This Is Tom Jones.” Little did his wife know that as his status rose, it would bring him a vice that would make him notorious in the music industry.

TOM’S NOTORIOUS AFFAIRS

In past interviews, Tom revealed that his affairs began early in his relationship with Melinda and before they married. He said teenage girls would hide their discretion by meeting with him in phone boxes to share kisses at the end of his girlfriend’s road.

When his fame hit, the Welsh singer was surprised, and the multitude of female interests that came with it led him astray. Speaking to The Telegraph in 2012, Tom claimed that he’d slept with around 250 women yearly.

Marjorie Wallace, Miss USA, the day after winning Miss World in London, United Kingdom, on November 24, 1973. | Source: Getty Images

The women included other musicians. The musician’s infidelities became so notorious that his backstage area even had parts designated as “the workbench,” where he took his groupies.

When he had an affair with Marjorie Wallace, a former Miss World winner, Tom’s behavior finally caught up with him, as reported in the media. In 2015, the star confessed to The Sunday Times that his wife “chinned” him for his acts, with him adding:

“I stood there and took it… When she let fly, Dai [his minder] just left. I said, ‘Go ahead.’ She punched and shouted.”

Melinda’s husband had many high-profile affairs, including the one with Mary Wilson of The Supremes. In his autobiography, Tom revealed that in the late 1960s, he and his wife agreed that she’d stop going with him on tour, and she didn’t ask about his affairs.

JONES’ LACK OF REMORSE OVER BEING A WOMANIZER

In 2015, Tom was interviewed by Big Issue, where he justified his adultery. He noted how the women he was with and the sex they had were discussed in the media but weren’t the essence of who he was.

The star felt the media picked on women when they asked him how his affairs affected Melinda. Tom said sex was brought into everything with all famous people and thought it was something that was a part of life.

Tom Jones at home with his wife Melinda Woodward in 1967. | Source: Getty Images

The musician justified his actions by sharing how without sex, people would die out. He felt what was more important was what made him different or unique, and showing how he didn’t have any remorse for his actions, he noted:

“I don’t regret anything. All in all, no matter what happened, my marriage is still solid, and my son still loves me. I haven’t done anything bad in my life.”

The star wasn’t bothered about how his actions hurt his wife and their relationship. Tom said he hadn’t hurt anyone, his actions never backfired, and his marriage remained “solid.”

When Bryan Appleyard, a Sunday Times journalist, asked whether he regretted his serial unfaithfulness, the singer said, “Naw.” In May 2021, Tom told the Mirror that Wilson and his wife met because he was “happily married.”

Mary Wilson of the Supremes photographed at a hotel in Los Angeles, California, on April 12, 1985. | Source: Getty Images

The Supremes songstress became a family friend. One of the women who allegedly had an affair with Tom claimed the singer was quite chilled about who was aware of their relationship.

In May 2019, Charlotte Law told Express that the musician’s son would help his father to procure women. Mark, three years older than Law, served as his father’s manager for years.

Law also noted how Melinda knew about her husband’s cheating but pretended to be unaware. She claimed the “Sexbomb” singer broke up with her three years after their relationship had begun because she told his publicist she was anti-abortion.

He [Tom Jones] also brought her [Melinda Jones] ashes with him so they’d continue to be together even though she was no longer physically there.

The woman alleged that she met the star’s parents, sister, and son. She said the artist once told her his mother knew about his affairs, and his son was sharing a suite with him on the night he first slept with Law.

THE ONLY WOMAN TOM LOVED

In June 2021, Tom opened up about his late wife, describing her as “a part of me.” While being interviewed on The Joe Wicks Podcast, he revealed he didn’t see himself falling in love again, stating:

“No, I’ll never love again, there was one love of my life, and that was Linda.”

Tom Jones at home with his wife Melinda Woodward and their son Mark in 1967. | Source: Getty Images

In April 2016, Melinda died at Los Angeles’ Cedars Sinai Hospital after a “short but fierce” battle with cancer. While speaking to The Observer magazine in 2021, Tom revealed that losing his wife was “the lowest part of my life.”

He admitted that he hadn’t thought he’d get through the heartbreak. The musician even visited a grief therapist because he kept wondering if he’d done enough to help her or if she slipped away without him seeing what was happening.

Tom Jones appears to fight back tears during the Hay Festival on June 5, 2016, in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. | Source: Getty Images

His therapist reassured him that there was nothing he could’ve done to help her. So now, every time he got on stage, his wife was with him, and before she passed, she urged him to think of her laughing and not dying, which was what he did.

After Melinda’s death, Tom moved into an apartment in London. He also brought her ashes with him so they’d continue to be together even though she was no longer physically there.

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