Paul McCartney and wife

Sir Paul McCartney has broken his silence over people who criticise his wife, Heather Mills McCartney. The former Beatle said he wanted to "set the record straight" in a message on his wife's website.

Following his departure from the Beatles, McCartney launched a successful solo career and formed the band Wings with his wife, Linda McCartney. McCartney has also worked on film scores, classical music, and ambient/electronic music. He has released a large catalogue of songs as a solo artist, and has taken part in projects to assist international charities.

McCartney was the last Beatle to marry. He had a five-year relationship with actress Jane Asher, and they were engaged to be married, until they broke up in 1968. He married American photographer Linda Eastman in 1969. They had three children together, and remained married until Linda's death from breast cancer in 1998. In 2002, McCartney married former model Heather Mills and they had a child in 2003. They announced their separation in 2006.

McCartney first met British actress Jane Asher on 18 April 1963, when the Beatles were performing at the Royal Albert Hall, in London, and a photographer asked them to pose with Asher. She conducted an interview with the Beatles for the BBC, and was then photographed screaming at them like a fan. McCartney later persuaded her to become his girlfriend.