Bob Geldof wife: when was he married to Paula Yates, who is Jeanne Marine and how many children does he have?

Paula is a new documentary from Channel 4 which tells the story of the life of journalist and TV presenter Paula Yates. The two-part series features four previously unheard interviews with Yates, which were recorded in the months leading up to her death in 2000.

Yates married Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof in 1986, and together the couple had three daughters before divorcing in 1996. Geldof shot to fame in the 1970s and became a major player in the growing punk scene. He is most well known for organising Live Aid, which was a benefit concert that fundraised to help people impacted by the famine in Ethiopia.

Following their divorce, Geldof has been in a long-term relationship with French actress Jeanna Marine. So, who is Bob Geldof’s wife, how did they meet and when did they get married?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is Bob Geldof’s wife Jeanne Marine?

Jeanne Marine is a French actress who is best known for her roles in Itinerary of a Spoiled Child, Braveheart and Possession. The 57-year-old was born in 1966 and according to Irish publication RSVP Live, started dating the Boomtown Rats frontman following his divorce from Yates in 1996 after the pair met in Paris.

Reflecting on their relationship, Geldof said: “I found love in the shape of a woman called Jeanne. I wasn’t looking for it. I’m so lucky, someone is looking after me. It was an improbable encounter between a woman who doesn’t speak English and a boy who doesn’t speak French, between a stunning, beautiful woman and a ruined, ruined man.”

When did they get married?

Geldof announced that he and Marine were engaged in May 2014, just weeks following the death of his daughter, Peaches. After 20 years together they tied the knot in a ceremony in France in April 2015. Speaking on the Irishman Abroad podcast he explained his reasons behind the nuptials.

Geldof said: “When my [first] wife left me and subsequently died, I met a girl who knew nothing about me, who I married a couple of years ago, and I married her after my daughter died because things were so dark in our family that I feared for my children’s health, never mind mine.”

He continued: “It happened to be my wife’s 50th birthday and we’d been together 20 years and to let some air into the room, to let some light into the fog, I proposed to her and she married me. Though all the family was ruined, she’s a wonderful woman. But I didn’t marry her because of that, I loved her anyway, but here was a celebration of life in the face of the other.”

When was he married to Paula Yates?

Geldof and Yates started dating in 1976, tying the knot in a Las Vegas ceremony in 1986, 10 years after the pair had met. In 1995 Yates had an affair with INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and the couple divorced in 1996.

Yates continued her relationship with Hutchence, with the pair welcoming their daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence in 1996. However, their union would end in tragedy when Hutchence was found dead in a Sydney hotel room in 1997. Just three years later at the age of 41, Yates passed away from an accidental heroin overdose.

How many children did they have?

Geldof and Yates had three daughters during their relationship. They welcomed their first, Fifi Trixibelle Geldof, in 1983, followed by Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof in 1989 and Pixie Geldof in 1990. Following Yate’s death, Geldof became the legal guardian of her daughter with Hutchence, Tiger Lily, officially adopting her in 2007.

In 2014, Peaches died from an accidental heroin overdose, leaving behind her husband and two sons, Astala and Phaedra. In an interview on the Tommy Tiernan Show in 2020, Geldof opened up about the grief he experiences, describing it as “boundless”.

Reported by the Independent, Geldof said: “Time doesn’t heal, time accommodates. You’re driving along, and you’re at the traffic lights, and for no reason whatsoever the person in question inhabits you. And I’ll cry. And then I look around to make sure the people next door don’t see me, aren’t taking a photo and posting it or something. But that happens, and that happens to everyone.”

When can you watch the Paula Yates documentary?

The first episode of the new two-part documentary aired on Channel 4 last night (13 March), with episode two playing at 9pm tonight (14 March). Episodes will also be available to watch on All4.