Getty Axl Rose of the band Guns N' Roses performs on stage, dressed in a white tank top and bike shorts, a backwards baseball cap, and a lot of bracelets, 1992.
Erin Everly is the ex-wife of Guns N Roses frontman Axl Rose. The former model, now age 55, made headlines for her relationship with the rocker in the early 1990s.
Decades later, Rose is being profiled on the REELZ documentary Axl Rose: Guns N’ Roses Frontman, where his relationship with Everly will once again be addressed.
Here’s what you need to know about Erin Everly:
She Is the Daughter of Everly Brothers Singer Don Everly
Erin Invicta Everly was born on November 8, 1965, in Los Angeles, California to singer Don Everly and his wife, actress Venetia Stevenson, according to IMDB. The celebrity couple also welcomed daughter Stacy and son Edan before divorcing in 1970.
Everly’s dad was best known as one half of the 1950s rock ‘n roll duo the Everly Brothers alongside his brother Phil. The two topped the charts with the hits “Bye Bye Love,” “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” “Cathy’s Clown” and more.
After growing up in a celebrity family, Erin Everly worked as a model as a teen and moved to New York City for a while. She has dated several celebrities, including actor Donovan Leitch and actor David Arquette, but her most memorable relationship was with Rose.
She Was the Inspiration for The Guns N Roses Song ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ & Appeared in the Music Video For the Song
Everly met Rose at a party in L.A. in 1986, when he was still a struggling rock musician. The two formed an instant connection.
“It was the first relationship I had had—I felt like we were two people who didn’t have much but who had found each other,” Everly once revealed to People. “I was looking for someone who wanted to get married, have a bunch of children, and a station wagon.”
She was the inspiration for Guns N Roses’ 1988 hit, “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” a rare power ballad on the band’s Appetite for Destruction album. She also appeared in the music video for the MTV-ready hit, along with some other girlfriends of the bandmates.
The uncharacteristically sentimental song described Everly’s smile and eyes and how she was Rose’s “sweet love of mine.”
The clip won the MTV Music Video Award for Best Rock Song in 1989, beating out entries by Aerosmith, Def Leppard, and Metallica. On YouTube, it has clocked nearly 2 billion views.
Erin’s Relationship With Axl Was Extremely Tumultuous & She Once Caused a Fight Between the GNR Rocker & Music Icon David Bowie
The couple’s relationship was notoriously stormy. In his memoir, Rose’s bandmate Slash gave an example of a quarrel that took place at The Cathouse while GNR was shooting the music video for the song “It’s So Easy.”
The shoot featured Everly in bondage gear, and it sparked the attention of David Bowie, who was dating Slash’s mother, Ola Hudson, at the time and was at the venue with her.
Later that night, Rose lashed out at Bowie while onstage, according to Rare, and threatened to kill him for talking about Everly.
Everly and Rose dated for a few years before marrying in Las Vegas, but the rocky union only last nine months. She filed a civil suit against Rose in 1994 in which she claimed that physically and emotionally abused her throughout their marriage.
“You never knew what would set him off,” she said, per People. She also admitted that she didn’t leave Rose sooner because she felt sorry for him and was hoping things would “get better.”
Rose settled the civil suit by paying his ex an undisclosed sum, per IMDB. The exes marriage was also annulled.
Erin Everly Once Sold Her Personal Items From Axl Rose
In 2013, Everly cleaned house in a major way. The brunette beauty auctioned off several items from her time with Rose, including candid photos, handwritten song lyrics, letters, and even the former couple’s marriage certificate. The items were sold as part of the Julien’s Auctions in “Icons and Idols 2013: Rock N’ Roll,” according to Rolling Stone
In one letter, Rose attempted to convince Everly of his fidelity, and in another, he bluntly wrote, “To Erin– Sorry yo’ birthday sucked, love, Axl.”
He also penned some sweeter sentiments, including an apology for being “so hard” on her.
Everly also unloaded some of Rose’s grunge-era flannels, including the one he wore in the band’s breakout “Welcome to the Jungle” video. The most valuable items for sale were the couple’s wedding video and marriage certificate.
Everly Remarried & Has 3 Kids
Six years after her annulment, Everly married businessman Jack Portman in the mid-1990s. The couple had three kids together – a son, Easan in 1996, and daughters Eres and Esper in 2000 and 2009, respectively – before they divorced in 2006.
Everly leads a private life now and does not very seem active on social media. She can be seen with her children on Instagram here.
According to Stop the Presses, in an intro on her now-defunct website it stated:
“Since 1990, Erin has remained out of the public eye and is a very proud and fiercely protective parent.”
The message included a thank you to curious followers for “all the letters and inquiries,” but requested that “for the sake of her children and loved ones,” that Everly’s “privacy and desire for a normal provincial life for her children be respected.”
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Erin Everly: Who Is Axl Rose’s Ex-Wife?