Tom Jones and His Wife Linda: A Love That Endured

Despite Tom Jones’s many reported affairs, he and his wife Melinda “Linda” Woodward stayed married for 59 years. They first met as children in Wales and became a couple in their teens, marrying young and welcoming their son Mark at age 17.

As Tom’s music career skyrocketed, he admitted to having hundreds of affairs, including with Miss World Marjorie Wallace and model Katherine Berkery, with whom he had a second son, Jonathan. Still, Tom always called Linda the love of his life.

When Linda was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, she had one final wish: for Tom to keep singing. In a 2020 interview, Tom shared her words: “You must not fall with me. I have to go, but you don’t need to.”

Inspired by her strength, Tom returned to the stage shortly after her passing. Her final words became the inspiration for his song “I Won’t Crumble When You Fall.”