Neil Diamond's life now from health battle update to age-gap marriage promise

The legendary singer-songwriter has been forced to take a step back from performing in his 80s but he is still loved by millions of fans from around the world thanks to his music

Neil Diamond is one of music's most legendary names, selling more than 130 million records in a career spanning seven decades. The American singer-songwriter's memorable tracks include Solitary Man and I'm A Believer - plus Sweet Caroline, which has become an unofficial anthem for England football fans.

Now 84, the Grammy award-winning member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has retired from performing, after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2018. "It's very hard," he told CBS Sunday Morning. "In a sense, I was in denial for the first year or two. When the doctor told me what it was, I was just not ready to accept it...

"Somehow a calm has moved [into] the hurricane of my life, and things have gotten very quiet, as quiet as this recording studio. And I like it. I find that I like myself better. I’m easier on people, I’m easier on myself. And the beat goes on, and it will go on long after I'm gone."

Health battles

The star's Parkinson's diagnosis in 2018 scuppered the Australian leg of his 50th anniversary tour. He went onto quit concert touring altogether, telling fans: "It is with great reluctance and disappointment that I announce my retirement... I have been so honoured to bring my shows to the public for the past 50 years. 'This ride has been 'so good, so good, so good' thanks to you."

In an interview on CBS Sunday Morning two years ago, Neil told how it had taken him a year or two to come to terms with his diagnosis of the incurable brain condition, which causes shaking, slow movements and stiffness. This isn't his first serious health battle - back in 1979 the singer-songwriter had back surgery to remove a benign tumour on his spinal cord. The operation lasted nine hours and he wrote goodbye letters to his loved ones, convinced he was going to die.

Third marriage

Neil is married to music manager Katie McNeil, falling for his third wife when she was 42 and him 71. The star says it was strictly business when they first began working together. "There was nothing," he told Mail Online. "She was just another business person handing me work to do and another business person I was trying to get away from. I stopped trying to get away after a year or so, once I got to know the person she was, and I liked that person very much.

"Katie's got a big heart and she's very transparent. I can read her heart from a mile away. She does a terrific English accent too, which makes me laugh every time."

Neil was previously wed to high school sweetheart Jayne Posner, with daughters Marjorie and Elyn. That marriage ended in 1969 and he was married to Marcia Murphey for 25 years before their divorce in 1994 with two sons, Jesse and Micah.

The star has spoken candidly about how his career and touring schedule affected family life. "There were always tears," he told 60 Minutes Australia. "The kids cried, my wives cried, I cried... I walk around with a sense of guilt still because I left them more than I should have but the work required it. It was that simple."

Neil, who is a grandfather of eight, also told People magazine: "The best thing I can do for my kids is give them a normal life, be supportive and let them find their own way." Through years of therapy, he has come to terms with his perceived past relationship failures and insists: "There will not be a fourth wife. I have the best woman in the world and I'm taking good care of our relationship. I'm making sure it's going to last forever."

Surprising song inspiration

The star hasn't been the subject of too much controversy over the course of his career but his famous song Sweet Caroline, played at many sports grounds around the world including after the Lionesses' success at Euro 2022, has proved a talking point. In 2007, Neil said the track had been inspired by John F Kennedy's daughter Caroline, who was 11 when the hit was released.

"It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony," he said. "It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there. It was a number one record and probably is the biggest, most important song of my career, and I have to thank her for the inspiration."

In 2017 the star said the song was actually written about his second wife Marcia, saying he had called it Caroline because he needed a three-syllable name. In 2012, the tune had been banned from a US football university game which was in the midst of a sex abuse scandal, due to the lyrics: "touching me, touching you".