Mandy Smith, ex-wife of Rolling Stone Bill Wyman says her faith began in Medjugorje

"In spare time not spent with Max, she immerses herself in charity work. She has never been happier and is able to view her past with a stringent new clarity.

‘In the past I was spoilt,’ she admits. ‘I’ve had nice houses, cars and jewellery. But it doesn’t make you happier and money has never been my god.

‘I have enough to live on and don’t want to be part of the celebrity world any more. I have worked hard to feel good about myself. I feel I have a real purpose.’

There is a further, rather extraordinary, explanation for her peace of mind: Mandy has become a practising Roman Catholic.

She takes her son to church every Sunday, attends mass twice a week and prays every day.

She says her faith began in 2005, when she joined a group of friends in Medjugorje, the Croatian shrine that has drawn Catholic pilgrims in their millions since 1981, when a group of local children claimed to have had visions of the Virgin Mary.

‘Something clicked,’ says Mandy. ‘Things kept happening that I can’t explain. We were having dinner when an image of Mary appeared on a white tablecloth 10ft away. We all saw it – everyone in the room.

‘I was brought up a Catholic but my mum was too ill to take us to church. I knew I had to get back on that path. Mandy Smith and Bill Wyman

Rock 'n' roll royalty: Mandy was 18 when she married Bill in Bayswater

‘My faith has definitely helped me. I treat God as the one I have to ask for guidance. I chat to him every day and he is actually like the man in my life. I was always scared, but I’m not as fearful any more.’

She is surprisingly forgiving towards the rock star ex-husband who could have ruined her life, saying: ‘People aren’t as protective of celebrities nowadays and if this had happened recently I think Bill would have ended up in prison.

'I can’t think of it as child abuse. If I did I wouldn’t have been able to move on. But I’m reminded of it on a regular basis.

'Things I hear on TV about young girls, different scenarios with older men, rape... But he fell in love with me so I can’t look at it as sordid or wrong.’"


Quoted from the article 'If it happened now, Bill would go to jail.' Mandy Smith on the Rolling Stone who seduced her at the age of 13 from the Daily Mail.

 

For God to live in your hearts, you must love.

`