EXCLUSIVE: Sir Tom Jones' Final Regret – His Massive Guilt Over Reclusive Late Wife He Met Aged 12 and Cheated on With Hundreds of Women
Tom Jones's regret has been revealed in a new documentary.
Oct. 21 2025, Published 5:05 p.m. ET
Sir Tom Jones has spoken with painful honesty about his guilt over the toll his infidelity took on his late wife Linda, revealing he still feels "partly responsible" for the struggles she endured before she died in 2016, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 85-year-old Welsh crooner, whose extraordinary career has spanned six decades, opens up in a new BBC documentary, Tom Jones: In My Own Words, in which he reflects on fame, faithfulness, and the love of the woman who stood by him from childhood to the end of her life.
Jones' Guilt Over Late Wife Revealed
Jones' opens up on his late wife in his new documentary.
Jones met Linda when they were both only 12 in Pontypridd, South Wales, and the pair married at 16 after she became pregnant with their son, Mark. Despite decades of separation due to touring and Jones' notorious womanizing during their marriage with hundreds of groupies, they never divorced, remaining married for 59 years until reclusive Linda's death from cancer.
"I was thinking of my wife, she was in my mind when I was recording it," he said of his 2010 rendition of Bob Dylan's What Good Am I?. "Her health wasn't good, and mentally, she wasn't in a good place, and I felt partly responsible for it. So I felt, 'What good am I, if I'm just like the rest, if I just turn away, when I see how you're dressed?'
"Because she'd lost it, you know? So that was on my mind when I recorded it."
Jones' reputation as one of music's great showmen was matched only by his reputation as a serial adulterer. During the height of his fame in the 1960s and '70s, he famously claimed to have slept with up to 250 women a year – a number that shocked even his inner circle.
Jones' Wild Affairs Exposed
Jones met his wife, Linda, when they were both 12 years old.
His affairs ranged from one-night flings to longer dalliances, one of which led to him fathering a child out of wedlock.
"Tom was a force of nature in those days," claimed a former associate. "He had fans throwing themselves at him, and he rarely said no. But despite everything, he always made it clear that Linda was the one who really understood him."
Spotlight-shy Linda, who became increasingly reclusive in her later years, chose to stay in Los Angeles while Jones continued performing globally. Friends say she preferred to live quietly, avoiding the glare of her husband's fame and the endless rumors about his private life.
The singer was known for his wild affairs and stepping out on his marriage.
Despite the hurt caused by his infidelity, those close to the couple said her love for him never faltered. When Linda became seriously ill, Jones said she urged him not to give up his career.
Jones said in his new documentary: "When she passed away, I said, 'Linda, I don't think I'll be able to carry on,' and she said, 'You must carry on, that's what you do, you're a singer, you've got to carry on, don't let this destroy you.'"
He added Linda's love had always been rooted in authenticity.
"I know my wife married me for me because I was nobody at the time," he said. "She loved me before all of this."
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The 85-year-old's wife died from cancer.
Jones admitted fame once made him "larger than life," something his son Mark, who later became his manager, worked to temper.
He said: "At this time, my son and daughter-in-law were my managers and made me aware, you know, don't pick up the underwear! If they're going to throw it at you, let it land where it may, but don't make a big deal out of it because you're belittling yourself, you're cheapening your talent. And they were right."
Even as his star faded in the disco era, Jones rebuilt his career, enjoying a resurgence in the 1990s and continuing to perform into his eighties. Yet, despite his enduring success, the pain of his wife's decline – and the role he believes he played in it – clearly remains his deepest regret.
