Love Will Tear Us Apart

In part 2 of the love story of Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates, I dig deeper into their relationship, the birth of their only child--Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence--Michael's unraveling and suicide, the last hours of his life, and the last years of Paula's life. 

This is the story of toxic love. Of two people who loved each other, but who probably shouldn’t have been together. Who brought out the worst in one another, and couldn’t break away. Love, or passion, or obligation, or a combo of all three, kept this toxic affair going, but it was on a collision course to annihilation.

Neither Michael or Paula survived, and the sad truth is, they might still be here today if they had never gotten together. Paula and Michael should be here, but it’s as if their stars were destined to collide, and then disintegrate.

Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates were not on  my short list of episodes, but after watching the Michael Hutchence doc, Mystify, I thought this couple would be worthy of an episode oh my god they had a bat-shit crazy relationship.

Until I watched the documentary, I had been a casual fan of INXS. I was too young to enjoy their heyday in the late 80s and early 90s, and by the late 1990s, when their music videos were re-running on VH1, I was still too young to enjoy the quality of their music and Michael Hutchence’s tight pants. 

Mystify, which is directed by Richard Lowenstein, a friend and music video director for the band, showed me how much I was missing out on.  I dove into INXS’ library and realized what incredible songwriters they were, particularly once I listened to their earlier stuff. What the documentary also did was make me cry for a man I never knew or particularly cared about. It’s evident the filmmaker, and Michael’s friends, family and lovers who were interviewed, had a deep love and respect for the flawed man. It is truly tragic that Michael ended his life at the young age of 37, and the documentary leaves you feeling that his death was completely avoidable.

Lowenstein includes a lot of personal and unreleased footage, which gives you an intimate view of the late singer. From all accounts MIchael was a kind, playful, and deeply passionate person that others enjoyed being around. The documentary also reveals that the Michael everyone knew and loved dramatically changed by the early 90s, and I’ll save the reasons why for the podcast.

Even though I didn’t know much about Michael before I did my podcast research, over the years I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of rag mags that sensationalized his relationship with Paula Yates. How could you not? The press HOUNDED the couple for YEARS, particularly in England, and their love story continues to fascinate people to this day. The Hutchence-Yates relationship is truly an epic tragedy, and while Paula was painted as the villain in the story, as was her ex-husband Bob Geldolf, I’ve come to learn that this complicated love triangle was more nuanced that what the press portrayed it as. I wanted to make sure everyone got a fair shake in this episode.

Note: This episode talks about suicide, depression, and drug abuse. If you or anyone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

On May 8th, 2020, Roy Horn, one-half of the famous Las Vegas entertainment act, Siegfried & Roy, died from complications of COVID-19 at the age of 75. For the past 17 years, Horn had been suffering from health issues related to a tiger attack that severed his spine and likely caused a stroke. While initially responding well to treatment for COVID-19, Roy sadly passed a little over a week after his diagnosis.

Siegfried and Roy were already on my list for future episodes, but with Roy’s surprise passing, I thought I would expedite their story. One of the reasons why I wanted to explore their relationship is because I realized I knew very little about them and I had the suspicion that their story was more interesting than I assumed.

I was a right.

Many people wonder if Siegfried and Roy were once romantically involved. The answer is…you’ll just have to listen to the podcast.

In this episode I explore a couple that wasn’t complicated at all. 

In fact, they were in a perfectly happy and healthy relationship. They had an enviable love story. I had been wanting to share their story for some time, and now seemed like a good time.

The couple is Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Martin Ginsburg.

I’m writing this episode three hours after hearing the news that Justice Ginsburg had passed away. Like many of you, I’m devasted. I’ve spent the past three hours in a daze and I thought bumping up their love story might help me work through some of those emotions.

I first became interested in their relationship when I heard an NPR story where Ruth read the letter her husband wrote to her before he passed away in 2010. I’ll save the letter for later in the podcast, but it’s quite moving. Shortly thereafter, I watched the doc RBG which shed more light on their remarkable relationship.

While this podcast tends to focus more on tragic or hot mess relationships—hence the name Love Will Tear Us Apart—at its core, it’s a podcast about epic relationships, and Ruth and Martin’s relationship was epic.

Here is part 2 of the HOLY MOTHER OF GOD THIS IS BONKERS love story of Tina and Ike Turner. In this episode we will get into Tina's abortion, suicide attempt, and final freedom from Ike Turner AND Ike's complete unraveling after Tina left him. Their story is not for the faint of heart and full of trigger warnings. 

Holy Mother of God. 

Those are the words that come to mind when I think of Tina & Ike Turner. 

This episode was the most difficult one I've researched so far. Their non-love story (love had very little to do with it) entailed copious amounts of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, in addition to pedophilia, abortion, and suicide. With that being said: This episode is one giant trigger warning. 

J. Robert Oppenheimer is the father of the atomic bomb. He also kind of looked like David Byrne and I’d really like David Byrne to play him in my screenplay about Oppeneheimer.

Oppenheimer was a well-known and much beloved physicist who taught at UC Berkley and Caltech before the US government enlisted him to be the director of the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. After the atomic bombs were dropped over Japan, Oppenheimer became a celebrity…and a fierce critic of nuclear weapons. This criticism made him  public enemy #1 with the US government during McCarthyism, and he was stripped of his security clearance and publicly shamed. He died at the age of 62 of cancer.

That’s the Cliff Notes version of Oppenheimer’s life. It’s infinitely more fascinating that that, in part because of his close relationship with Jean Tatlock, a very smart and very depressed doctor, maybe lesbian, and Communist Party of America member. In this episode, I’d like to explore their on-again off-again relationship, Jean’s effect on Robert’s life, and her untimely death.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham--the beautiful and forever-fighting couple from Fleetwood Mac. The two dated for seven years and broke up right after finding fame with Fleetwood Mac, but that didn't stop them from writing decades worth of songs about one another. Even now the two don't get along--Stevie axed Lindsey from Fleetwood Mac in 2018 and Lindsey thinks it's because Stevie is jealous of his happiness. I've been intrigued by these two ever since I was a tween and saw Stevie sing-yell at Lindsey during "Silver Springs" in 1997. I've read numerous biographies and listened to, read, and watched hundreds of interviews through the decades. It was so much fun doing a deep dive into their relationship, and I hope you enjoy.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham--the beautiful and forever-fighting couple from Fleetwood Mac. The two dated for seven years and broke up right after finding fame with Fleetwood Mac, but that didn't stop them from writing decades worth of songs about one another. Even now the two don't get along--Stevie axed Lindsey from Fleetwood Mac in 2018 and Lindsey thinks it's because Stevie is jealous of his happiness. I've been intrigued by these two ever since I was a tween and saw Stevie sing-yell at Lindsey during "Silver Springs" in 1997. I've read numerous biographies and listened to, read, and watched hundreds of interviews through the decades. It was so much fun doing a deep dive into their relationship, and I hope you enjoy. 

When Gene Wilder passed away in 2016, people took to social media to say, "Gene is finally reunited with his greatest love, Gilda Radner!" Well, folks, I hate to break it to you, but their relationship was much more complicated than you think. Gene and Gilda were married for only five years before she passed away, and their relationship was marked with many highs and many lows. After Gilda's death, Gene was frank about their struggles, and Gilda's, er, over-the-topness, and he was also very open about finding lasting love with his fourth wife, Karen. In this episode, we'll explore Gene and Gilda has individuals, and them as a couple. I love both of these two actors dearly, so it was fun to dive into their personal stories. 

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been captivated by dramatic love stories.

F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin

I loved learning about this messy, beautiful and complicated relationships, and that is what inspired this podcast--Love Will Tear Us Apart. 

This is my first podcast and I hope you’ll join me on my journey to uncover the complicated, passionate and sometimes scandalous stories behind our favorite couples.