Getty Freddie Starr and Sophie Lea attend the British Comedy Awards at Fountain Studios on December 16, 2011 in London, England.
Sophie Lea was Freddie Starr’s fourth and final wife. The couple married in a quiet ceremony in January 2013 having dated since 2010. There is a 39-year age gap between the couple. They met while Lea was a backup singer on his standup show. At the time, Lea was married with a son named Elliot. During their marriage, Starr was accused of physically attacking Lea and her son. Lea and Starr had a six-year-old daughter together.
During his lifetime, Starr was married four times. His first wife, Betty, stayed married to the comedian from 1960 until 1972. The couple had one child together. In 1980, Starr married Sandy with whom he had three children. Starr then married Donna in 1998, who was 27 years his junior. The couple had a daughter named Ebony before divorcing in 2003 and then reconciling in 2006 before a final divorce in 2010.
On May 9, Freddie Starr died at the age of 76. The English comedian’s cause of death has been given as a heart attack, according to various reports from the United Kingdom. The Daily Mirror in the UK was the first to report on Starr’s death on May 9. The Sun reports that Starr was found dead on the floor of his small one-bedroom apartment in the Costa Del Sol.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Lea Accused Starr of Kicking & Headbutting Her During Their Marriage
GettyStarr pictured prior to a show in August 1977.
In May 2016, Lea came forward to accuse Starr of kicking and headbutting her in an interview with the Daily Star. Lea said that Starr had become angry with her over his arrest in regard to a historical sexual abuse accusation. Starr was alleged to have put his hand in a teenager’s skirt in 1974, Starr denied the allegation and was later cleared of any wrongdoing due to a lack of evidence. Starr’s attempts to sue his accuser saw a charge order him to pay more than $1 million to the woman.
The Daily Mail reported in November 2012 that as a result of his arrest, Starr was not allowed to be alone with the couple’s children unless his wife was present. Starr told the Daily Mirror at the time, “If Sophie goes out I can’t be left alone with them in my own house. The way I’m being treated is humiliating. The kids are suffering too.” During the same interview, Sophie said, “Although it has been unsettling for the children they know their dad has done nothing wrong. We are all standing by him. But it has made Freddie paranoid. It’s a living nightmare.”
GettyLea drives away from their home she shared with Starr in November 2012.
Lea told the Star in 2016, “I am still in the recovery process and the abuse still haunts me every single day. As soon as I am strong enough I will start doing some volunteering to help others who have been through the same thing. There were a few domestic abuse charities which, effectively, saved my life… Freddie used to destroy my clothes, throw water in my face to wake me up in the morning, headbutt and punch me. Getting slapped across the face every day or kicked was nothing.” The Daily Star article mentioned that Freddie Starr had told the newspaper that he would remain in the Costa del Sol in Spain until his death. The comedian denied Lea’s allegations. During their marriage, the couple lived in Studley, Warwickshire, 100 miles northwest of London.
In a separate interview with the Sun, Lea said of the abuse she suffered, “If I asked him if he wanted a cup of tea and a scone and I forgot the scone, he would fly off the handle and accuse me of disrespecting and neglecting him. On one occasion I was left with a black eye.”
2. Lea Says The Couple’s Relationship Began as Friends With Starr Helping Her Get a Car & a House
In 2015, Lea told the Sun that the couple’s relationship began as friends with Starr helping her to get a car and a house. Lea said, “He helped me get back on my feet.” When Starr had quadruple heart bypass surgery, Lea said she moved in with him. During the same interview, Lea went on to say that Starr had become impossible to live with due to his laziness and that he would regularly watch “ghost-hunting shows.” Lea went on, “He would have a go at me if I used my iPad or read a magazine. If I tried to speak to him he would just say, ‘Shut the f*** up.”
Lea went on to say that the couple was broke and relied on Starr’s pension to get by and in February 2015, she was admitted to a hospital after suffering from a nervous breakdown. Lea said that when her mother told her that Starr had assaulted the singer’s son, Elliot, that was the final straw and she began divorce proceedings.
3. Lea Left Starr for a Younger Man Named Andrew Who ‘Treats Her Like a Princess
GettyStarr poses in London with British dance troupe Hot Gossip, 27th March 1981.
In June 2016, the Daily Mail reported that Lea was dating a man in his 40s named Andrew. The tabloid said that the couple had been together since early 2016. A friend told the Daily Mirror at the time that Lea had “fallen for Andrew.” That friend added, “She initially found it hard to let someone into her life again after Freddie but this time things finally seem right. She feels so lucky to have found love again. Andrew is much younger than Freddie. He treats her like a princess. They are very much in love.”
4. Starr Says His Marriage to Lea Was Never Consummated
The Daily Mirror reported in 2016 that Lea had made numerous attempts to get Starr to sign divorce papers to no avail. Starr rejected Lea’s divorce and claims for a financial settlement, stating his belief that the marriage had never been consummated. This was denied by Lea.
In response to Starr’s claims, Lea said, “I was gobsmacked when I read that. How dare he say that? Freddie knows that divorce proceedings are going to happen and he’s trying to have it annulled so he doesn’t have to pay us anything.”
5. Lea Was By Starr’s Side When He Infamously Stormed Off of the Set of ‘Good Morning Britain’
Lea was with Starr when he stormed off of the set of “Good Morning Briain” in 2014. Starr was being asked about being accused of sexual assault. Susanna Reid, the host of the show, asked if Starr had ever done “anything that could have been misinterpreted.” Starr replied by saying, “Are you being serious?” before storming off. Starr later returned with Lea to continue the interview.
During the interview, Sophie said the arrest had “changed him as a man.” She added, “It’s like even the little things like with his daughter, at one point he was scared to even cuddle her because you’ve got the world judging you. I know Freddie will come back from this.” Sophie continued, “I would say he is one of the most caring, gentlemen that you can ever meet. He’d do anything for anybody.
“And the fact is that for him to be accused of this, thank God it is now over, people can start to see the true Freddie and not the person that was portrayed in the media because it’s not him at all.”
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