'i adored her'
Rupert Everett says he feels ‘no guilt’ over six-year affair with Paula Yates behind Bob Geldof’s back
RUPERT Everett says he doesn't feel guilty for his six-year affair with Paula Yates behind Sir Bob Geldof's back.
The 61-year-old has spoken candidly about his relationship with the late TV presenter, who died of a heroin overdose in 2000.
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In an interview to be aired on Piers Morgan's Life Stories tomorrow, Rupert is grilled on coming between showbiz royalty Paula and Bob during their 10-year marriage.
Rupert told Piers: "We were very, very close, I must say, for a long time, and she's someone that I adored and still do.
"I think I was in love with her. I adored her."
When asked by Piers how he "squared off Bob in all this", Rupert said he "just ignored him".
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Quizzed on whether he felt guilty about the affair, Rupert said "no", adding: "I don't know, I think it would be for her to feel guilty, not me."
The Shakespeare in Love actor - who identifies as a homosexual - was romantically involved with Paula after meeting in 1982.
They continued their affair following the breakdown of Paula's marriage in 1986.
Her lifeless body was tragically found after a night on heroin in September 2000.
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The pain of her INXS rock star lover Michael Hutchence committing suicide and her ex-husband gaining custody of their three daughters has always been blamed for her downfall.
When asked if he believes he could have "saved" her from her accidental overdose, Rupert replied: "I am afraid once someone goes off the rails your instinct is to run a mile.
"Fate took such twists. If Michael Hutchence hadn't died, Paula might have survived. Hers was an incredible story in the limelight.
"She was just dealt card after card in the last ten years of her life."
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Writing for the Daily Mail in 2006, under My Life With The Divas, Rupert said: "I am mystified by my heterosexual affairs, but then I am mystified by most of my relationships.'
"That side of our relationship was tenuous to say the least, and our lives went in different directions."
He added: "She had a fragility that was erotic to men. She could break if you squeezed her too hard.
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"She had a tiny waist that you could put your hands around and your fingers would nearly touch.
"This was her most extraordinary feature, because it gave the man she let hold her a sense of protective power; even if you were gay, you could not help but feel turned on."