Shane MacGowan’s widow admits she went into REHAB after going through ‘hell’ while with the wildman

Shane MacGowan’s widow went into rehab after going through “hell” while she was with the late Pogues frontman.

Victoria Mary Clarke, who married infamously hedonistic Shane in 2018 after they had spent decades together, opened up about spending time at The Priory while talking about how chaotic life could be with the late ‘Fairytale of New York’ wildman – who died aged 65 on 30 November after battling a string of health issues including pneumonia.

She told BBC Radio 4’s ‘Woman’s Hour’ about going on the road with Shane: “There was a lot of excitement and I got to travel all over the world, meet all kinds of people – but at the same time, always wondering like, ‘Will he overdose? Will he get arrested? Will he have a nasty accident? Will he die? You know, will he get on stage? Will he fall and not remember the words and will he miss the plane?’

“So I suppose it’s like having a four-year-old who’s got a credit card.”

Revealing how she walked away from Shane a string of times and tried rehab, she added: “I did walk away many times and come back, and I felt that I was always drawn back.

“But yes, I went through hell and I went to The Priory, and I wanted to kill myself and I ended up taking lots of different drugs myself.”

Hard-living Shane, who spent years addicted to drink and drugs, was laid to rest on December 8 in a funeral in the town of Nenagh, County Tipperary, in his native Ireland.

Hours before the service his partner Victoria Mary Clarke revealed his hatred of final farewells.

She said on Instagram: “Tomorrow is Shane’s funeral which is hard to believe and probably I won’t believe it for a while.

“Shane hated funerals and he refused to go to them with a few rare exceptions.”