Twitter/Sharon Bush Sharon Bush
Sharon Bush was Neil Bush’s first wife. She did not go quietly into the good night. They had a very public divorce that was filled with accusations, although she has rebuilt her life in New York City working to improve the community.
Neil Bush and Sharon Bush were married for a long time, but their divorce exploded into scandal and headlines. Where is Sharon Bush today? Today, according to her Instagram page, she is Senior Development Director of Cristo Rey Brooklyn. Sharon Bush told Page Six that she asked to attend George H.W. Bush’s funeral with her three children with Neil, but he rebuffed her and said she was not invited.
“I was going to take the train down. I wanted to pay my respects,” Sharon told Page Six. “But I paid my respects by raising three wonderful children during a 23-year marriage.”
Sharon recently shared a picture of her daughter with Neil, Ashley, reading to George H.W. Bush. “This is a very sweet picture of my Ashley reading to her grandfather a few months ago,” she wrote. “May he Rest in Peace.” Today, her website says, she lives in New York City, where she is involved in charitable groups and efforts.
This is how Sharon spent the day of George H.W. Bush’s funeral:
The other women in the picture are Anne Hearst, of the famous publishing family, and Cynthia Germanotta, Lady Gaga’s mother.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Sharon’s Marriage to Neil Bush Fell Apart After 23 Years
A 2004 article on Sharon Bush in Texas Monthly is titled, “Cast Away.”
The article claims that Sharon realized her marriage was failing in 2002 when she received an email from Neil Bush that read in part, “It’s very clear that we have met basic material needs, but it is also really obvious that we are failing to meet each other’s core needs. We’re almost out of money and I’ve lost my patience for being compared to my brothers, for being put down for my inability to make money, and tired of not feeling loved. I’m sure you’ve lost your patience, that you have felt abandoned and a deep sense of loneliness.”
The article alleges that Barbara Bush, the former First Lady, took Neil’s side, saying, “You talk to your mother. Neilsie will talk to me.”
A 2008 article in Vanity Fair dubbed Sharon “The Inconvenient Sharon Bush.” It says the Bushes were married for 23 years before the union spectacularly imploded. However, she has since rebuilt her life in New York City, where she works on efforts to help underprivileged women.
2. Neil Was Accused of Having a Relationship With Another Woman He Later Married
GettyNeil Bush (L) and his family are pictured above as they visit the Capitol Rotunda as former U.S. President George H.W. Bush lies in state on December 3, 2018 in Washington, DC.
It was alleged that Neil Bush had fallen in love with a woman named Maria Andrews, according to Texas Monthly. The magazine quotes a letter allegedly from Neil to Maria that reads, “You’re the only woman I think about, want to be with, and am absolutely committed to,” Neil wrote. “Sitting in front of your home with the moon so full in the sky makes my heart long for the day when we can fill each other with the magic and power of love!!”
ABC 13 reports of Neil: “He married Sharon Smith in 1980 and they divorced in 2003. In 2004, he married Maria Manass.”
The magazine also says that Andrews’ ex-husband sued Sharon Bush on behalf of his son with Maria for slander. Sharon told Texas Monthly that Maria was once her best friend. Page Six reports that the suit was thrown out and the child determined to be the son of Andrews’s ex husband.
GettyGeorge H.W. Bush leaves behind five living children, 17 grandchildren, and eight grandchildren. .
According to Vanity Fair, the Mexican-born Maria Andrews was “a volunteer in the Houston literacy-foundation office of Barbara Bush” who divorced an “oil entrepreneur” named Robert Andrews. Neil Bush proposed to Maria in France shortly after his marriage to Sharon ruptured, and they did marry.
3. Sharon & Neil Bush Had Three Children Together
According to Vanity Fair, Sharon had three children with Neil Bush: Lauren, Pierce, and Ashley. Sharon posted on Instagram about her girls doing a reading at their grandfather’s funeral, writing that she was proud of them.
In March 2018, Pierce Bush married Sarahbeth Melson. Both Sharon and Maria were at the wedding, as was Neil Bush.
In November 2018, Sharon wrote on Instagram of Pierce, “So proud of my son Pierce. He heads Big Brothers Big Sisters for Texas and recently raised over $300,000 for them!”Pierce Bush is among the Bush grandchildren to speak lovingly in the former president’s memory. He wrote, “Last week, we had a beautiful Thanksgiving celebration, and even though his body was getting weaker, Gampy was 100% with us. His mind was sharp. His heart was pure. His love for family and life was present, as it always has been. Yesterday, we witnessed this very good man transition to meet his Maker and also be reunited with his beautiful Barbara, daughter Robin, and other loved ones in Heaven. There is no doubt this incredible man is in a better place yet I still feel a selfish sadness that I will not be able to stop by his house in Houston and say my usual, ‘Hi Gampy!’ and hear him respond with, ‘hey Piercey, what’s new?!’ He was always the best grandfather a kid could ask for. Fun and always inclusive of everyone. Never mean or angry. Always kind and thoughtful and loving. As long as I shall live, my heart will always beat with the love Gampy poured into me. He was the human embodiment of live and now that love is with its original Source.”
Lauren Bush Lauren wrote that her grandfather “was the center of our family and truly a good and kind man publicly and privately. He is someone I always looked up to and his legacy of service lives on in so many ways.” Three days after she was born, he wrote her a letter and said, “It’s a funny thing – when you get older, even if you have an exciting life surrounded by interesting people and having a chance to meet all the world’s leaders – even with all that what counts is family and love. We love you already, more than tongue can tell.”
The couple’s daughter is now known as Lauren Bush Lauren because she married the son of clothing designer Ralph Lauren. Lauren Bush Lauren has two children with David Lauren. The child was born two days after Barbara Bush died.
Neil Bush remarked on the most recent birth on Facebook, writing, “Maria and I were so blessed to spend lots of time with mom and dad during mom’s last weeks and we are so grateful for the condolences and the outpouring of love expressed towards her by many, many friends. Barbara Bush was loved by everyone. She lived a remarkable life blessing family, friends, and total strangers around the world. Mom left on her own terms. In the final hours she was comfortable, loving, surrounded by family, holding hands with dad. Maria and I will always be grateful for being able to say a proper goodbye to our wonderful mother. And then two days later, yesterday morning, two weeks before her due date, Lauren Bush Lauren gave birth to a beautiful 7 lb 8 oz baby boy Max Walker Lauren. The circle of life. God is good.”
4. The Couple’s Divorce Hit the Headlines With Salacious Accusations
GettyNeil Bush
The couple’s deposition revealed sordid accusations against Neil Bush. According to Vanity Fair, they included accusations that Neil “has had extramarital sex several times with strange women who knocked on his hotel door during business trips in Thailand and Hong Kong” and that he earned significant money as a consultant despite “an admitted ignorance in the field of semiconductors.” That came on top of the past scandal involving Neil Bush’s position on the board of directors for Silverado Banking, Savings and Loan Association.
Sharon was also accused of various bizarre things, such as supposedly taking Neil’s hair for a voodoo doll; she said she wanted to see if he was using cocaine, according to Vanity Fair.
She has rebuilt her life since, though, and stayed out of the negative headlines.
Sharon’s website today describes her as “an accomplished philanthropist who has worked for nearly four decades to bring resources to underprivileged women, children and families around the world. Her altruism and business acumen have had a powerful results, and many global organizations have recognized her humanitarian efforts with awards and accolades.”
The site continues, “Sharon Bush is an accomplished philanthropist who has worked for nearly four decades to bring resources to underprivileged women, children and families around the world. Her altruism and business acumen have had a powerful results, and many global organizations have recognized her humanitarian efforts with awards and accolades.”
5. Sharon Bush Used to Be a Teacher & Is Involved in Charitable Efforts
According to Vanity Fair, the already divorced Sharon Bush once worked as a teacher in New Hampshire and met Neil Bush on the campaign trail.
The Bushes initially had a happy marriage and were regarded as a “golden couple” when they lived together in Colorado, Vanity Fair reported. Page Six described an intense counter that Sharon Bush allegedly had with Neil and Maria after the latter pair married. Neil was accused of telling Sharon to “get a life.”
Sharon was accused of making disparaging remarks about the Bush family to an author and later denied making them.
She was once engaged to billionaire Gerald Tsai, according to New York Magazine, but he later sued to get his ring back. Her website says, “Upon earning her teaching degree in 1975 from the University of New Hampshire, Sharon Bush worked as an inner city elementary school teacher.”
The site continues, “As founder and CEO of Teddy Shares, Sharon Bush took her humanitarian efforts further with an innovative concept of giving: every teddy bear purchase helps mitigate world hunger by providing Plumpy’Nut supplement (vital nutrients) to malnourished children in Africa.” The site adds, “Sharon oversees business development for Protein Matrix, a next generation plant-based compound designed to remediate environmental pollution.”
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