The bitter family rift that led to the son of renowned footballer Jimmy Calderwood leaving his funeral abruptly started when his daughter found out about his secret mistress, as per MailOnline.
In 2015, the affair between the former Aberdeen and Dunfermline manager and Yvonne Buchanan came to light when his daughter Nikki stumbled upon explicit messages on his phone.
Calderwood, who passed away at 69 last month after a battle with Alzheimer’s, eventually separated from his wife Sue and moved in with Ms. Buchanan for the final years of his life.
But the break-up of his 41-year marriage led to ill-feeling and bitterness in his family which never fully recovered, and spilled over at his funeral.
His son Scott, 46, walked out amid claims his family was being ‘disrespected’ in the service and security guards were there to keep the peace with relatives of Ms Buchanan.
Calderwood’s former wife Sue, 70, who is the mother of his four children, also stayed away from Tuesday’s crematorium service in Cardonald, Glasgow.
His daughter Nikki, now 36, reportedly uncovered his affair with divorced mother-of-three Ms Buchanan nine years ago after becoming suspicious of his behaviour.
A source said at the time: ‘Once again it seems Jimmy has made a big mess of things and left his family to pick up the pieces.
‘They had suspected something was going on because he had been acting strangely for a while.
‘He was very protective over his mobile. He would take it with him into the bathroom and go out for walks on his own.
‘But Jimmy was finally caught when his daughter Nikki grabbed his phone and checked it out.
‘She was disgusted when she discovered a series of messages between him and this woman Yvonne.’
They added: ‘Most of the texts are thought to have been sexual chat or the pair organising meetings in hotels.
‘Why would he be going to a hotel with another woman? I think we all know the answer to that.’
It was claimed that Calderwood had been telling his Sue that he was going away on Wednesdays for football meetings or to see friends in Glasgow.
But his phone revealed that he was instead meeting his lover in what was said to be his fifth affair during his marriage.
Calderwood reportedly stormed into the pub where Sue worked after discovering his phone was missing, but she assured him she did not have it.
He is said to have had an angry confrontation with mother-of four Nikki in a car park after it emerged that she had taken it.
The source added: ‘At first Jimmy went into Sue’s work looking for his mobile. He was screaming and shouting, but she told him she never had it.
‘Then he found out Nikki had it, and he went to meet her. They ended up having a blazing argument. He denied he was having an affair but the evidence against him was pretty conclusive.’
It is believed that Calderwood initially tried to patch things up with Sue, but continued to meet up with divorcee Ms Buchanan.
His children rallied around their shattered mother after he reportedly left his family’s five-bedroom home in Dunfermline and moved in with his new love.
The source added: ‘For a while Jimmy was coming back and forward from the family home. He would go away for three days then come back again.
‘He was being told to get out and move in with his mistress — just leave and live a happy life together with her.
‘Jimmy would tell his family, ‘This is my house, you can’t chuck me out of it.’ And he would add, ‘I can’t move in with her’.
‘But he is not in the house any more — he left for good a few weeks ago.
‘He still sneaks back from time to time to get stuff but only when no one else is there.’
He and Sue eventually divorced in 2018 – three years after the fling was uncovered.Â
Calderwood left Glasgow in 1971, aged just 15, to sign for Birmingham City, and married Sue while he was in the Midlands.
It is claimed he cheated on her for the first time after he moved in 1979 to play in Holland, where the couple’s children were born.
A source said in 2015: ‘Jimmy has always loved the attention he got from the opposite sex for being a footballer and then a manager.
‘For some reason women would throw themselves at him. He’s had at least five affairs that the family know about.
‘Most of these were during the 20 years that he was playing for, or managing, Dutch clubs.
‘I don’t know if Jimmy can let go of the footballer’s lifestyle of women and money. He’s had it for so long and he likes to be the centre of attention.’
They added: ‘I don’t think Jimmy lives in the same world as the rest of us. It’s as if he thinks he’s some kind of god who can do as he pleases.’
Calderwood who also previously managed Kilmarnock and Ross County was left out of a job after quitting Dutch team De Graafschap in February 2014.
The source added at the time: ‘Jimmy likes to be seen as an important person, but he’s not been in the limelight for a while now.
‘Everyone has been supporting Sue since his affair was exposed at the turn of the year. No one in the family really speaks to him any more.
‘He has four children and 12 grandkids but not one wants anything to do with him now. Even his own sister has turned on him and is supporting Sue.’
Calderwood sold his marital home for £320,000 in 2016, nine months after his marriage split was revealed.
The following year in 2017, he revealed that he was battling the onset of Alzheimer’s and had begun to be ‘forgetful’.
Calderwood’s son Scott claimed he walked out of the crematorium following the funeral at Shiedhall and Drumoyne United Free Church of Scotland, in Cardonald, because he felt his family was being ‘disrespected’.
He told The Daily Record: ‘The service barely mentioned any of our family. What happened yesterday had been brewing with Yvonne for years as my dad’s illness got worse.
‘We couldn’t just stand there and be disrespected like that. My dad wouldn’t have stood for that sort of thing so I couldn’t either.
‘It wasn’t just the disrespect for my mum, it was for all of my family who they just tried to whitewash out of his life.
‘I couldn’t just stand there and be a spectator at my own dad’s funeral and act like I barely knew the man. They had security guards there to keep us all apart.
‘I know for a fact my dad wouldn’t have wanted that so it was just complete disregard for his wishes.
‘I had enough and just couldn’t stand there and listen to that so I decided to walk out and some of my family joined me. I just want to grieve for my dad now.’
Calderwood had four children – Scott, Kay, Donna and Nikki – from his marriage to Sue.
Ms Buchanan, alongside her son Mark, was among those to pay touching tributes to Calderwood after he died from complications of dementia on January 19.
She had said: ‘I’ve lost the love of my life to a very cruel disease.’
Calderwood’s funeral cortege drove past Rangers’ Ibrox stadium, home of the team he supported, on Tuesday ahead of the service.
He guided Dunfermline to the top flight in 2000, steering them to a fourth-place finish four years later, while his Aberdeen side famously drew with Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup in season 2007-08.
