Bryan Ferry breaks his silence on death of ex-wife Lucy Birley

Bryan Ferry is “saddened and shocked” by the death of his ex-wife Lucy Birley at the age of just 58.
The former model and socialite, whose 21-year marriage to the former Roxy Music frontman ended in 2003, died while on holiday in Ireland, her family confirmed on Tuesday (24Jul18). She and Bryan had four adult sons – Otis, Isaac, Tara, and Merlin together.
In a statement posted on his official Twitter account, Bryan wrote: “I’m much saddened and shocked by this tragic news of Lucy’s death. The family request that our privacy be respected during this difficult time.”
Her death was confirmed in a statement issued to the Daily Mail by her current husband, businessman Robin Birley and her sons. The family are yet to announce her cause of death.
Lucy battled alcohol and drug addiction before going teetotal in 1993, a decade before her split from Bryan. She married Robin, the stepson of late business mogul Sir James Goldsmith, in 2006.
Both she and Bryan supported their son Otis when he was remanded in custody for four months in 2008 amid allegations he tried to discredit a witness during a robbery and assault case. The charges were subsequently dropped and the rock star claimed his son had been unfairly treated due to his opposition to a ban on foxhunting.
In a 2011 interview, Lucy explained that she decided to withdraw from public life after the end of her marriage as she felt uncomfortable with media attention.
“I didn’t want to be put in the spotlight,” she told The Guardian. “My family’s attitude to the press and publicity was very much that it was frowned upon. You only appeared in papers if you were born, married or had died. That affected me when I got married to Bryan. I didn’t want to reveal myself and, actually, probably there wasn’t much to reveal at that point.”