No longer his wonderwall. Noel Gallagher and his wife, Sara MacDonald, have announced their divorce after more than 20 years together, Us Weekly can confirm.
“A spokesperson on behalf of Noel Gallagher and Sara Macdonald has confirmed that the couple are to divorce,” a spokesperson for the pair said in a statement obtained by Us on Monday, January 16. “Noel and Sara will together continue to look after their children who remain their priority. Noel and Sara ask the media to respect their privacy and that of our family at this time.”
The former couple met in 2000 at a nightclub in Ibiza, Spain. The Manchester native, 55, recounted asking the publicist, 51, for her phone number — which she wrote down on a card — and declared it was “love at first sight” in a 2020 interview with British Vogue.
“I remember keeping [the card] like it was a religious f—cking artifact,” he recalled at the time.
The two tied the knot in June 2011 during a private ceremony at the New Forest National Park in the United Kingdom. The pair went on to welcome two sons, Donovan, 15, and Sonny, 12. Prior to his relationship with the Edinburgh native, Gallagher was previously married to Meg Mathews from 2000 to 2001. The duo share daughter Anaïs, 22.
While a blended brood can be a challenge, Anaïs opened up about her father’s relationship with MacDonald and how she considered her stepmother a third parent.
“Children from divorced parents often have a negative view of marriage,” she shared during MacDonald and Gallagher’s joint interview with British Vogue. “But, I’ve witnessed two people who love each other and are best friends, they are so close. It makes me want what they have.”
Gallagher was the head songwriter and lead guitarist for the rock band Oasis, which was founded by his brother Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer and Andy Bell. The band was formed in 1991 with Noel joining the group after seeing their first performance. In 2009, the British songwriter exited the band after he and Liam, 50, got into an altercation.
“It is with some sadness and great relief … I quit Oasis tonight,” Noel announced on the band’s website at the time. “People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”
The brothers’ ongoing feud was one of the reasons why Liam was not invited to Noel and MacDonald’s wedding. In 2018, the “Champagne Supernova” singer attempted to reconcile with his brother and sought out to get Noel to rejoin Oasis.
“Earth to Noel, listen up kid. I hear [you’re] doing gigs where people can’t drink alcohol now that’s the [bizzarest] thing you’ve done yet,” he wrote via Twitter. “I forgive you now let’s get the BIG O back together and stop f—cking about, the drinks are on me. LG x.”
During his interview with British Vogue, the “Morning Glory” musician, who formed his own band, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds in 2010, revealed he has considered reconciling with his brother and rejoining the band.
“I’ve often thought, ‘Let’s just do a gig,’” he recalled. “But I realized I would only be doing it to shut this f—cking idiot up.”
