Sinead O'Connor ends marriage to 4th husband Barry Herridge after 16 days
Last updated at 5:48 PM on 27th December 2011
Sinead O'Connor has announced the end of her fourth marriage, which lasted just 16 days.
The singer, 45, wrote a lengthy and heartfelt message on her official website after fearing the news of her split from Barry Herridge, who she wed on December 8, was about to be leaked.
O'Connor revealed that she and Herridge actually lived together as husband and wife for just seven days before ending their relationship on Christmas Eve, 16 days after their Las Vegas union.
Split: Sinead O'Connor has ended her marriage to Barry Herridge, her fourth husband, after just 16 days
The Irish star blamed 'intense pressure' placed on her husband from members of his circle following their sudden Vegas union, which she revealed ended in a 'wild' journey to find marijuana.
O'Connor told her fans that the pair have parted amicably and said she still loves Herridge 'very much,' but that he was too nice 'to trap.'
She wrote: 'From the moment myself and my husband got together not long ago, there was intense pressure placed upon him by certain people in his life, not to be involved with me. These were people who had never met me but had formed opinions of me based on what they read about 'Sinead 'O'Connor' in the media etc.
'Entitled as they are to their opinions about me many perhaps well deserved, there was no righteousness on anyone's part to put my husband through what he was put through as a result of his desire to be with me and to marry me and as a result of his actually marrying me.
'I love him very much': The singer made the announcement on her website, revealing the couple only lived together for seven days
'Within 3 hours of the ceremony being over the marriage was kyboshed by the behaviour of certain people in my husband's life. And also by a bit of a wild ride I took us on looking for a bit of a smoke of weed for me wedding night as I don't drink. My husband was enormously wounded and very badly effected by that experience and also by the attitude of those close to him toward our marriage.
'It became apparent to me that if he were to stay with me he would be losing too much to bear. And that being with me was not going to serve him positively , career wise or any other wise. I saw his life leave him because of how people close to him reacted. And I can't take anyone's life. And a woman wants to be a joy to her husband. So.. U love someone? Set them free.
O'Connor continued: 'He is a wonderful man. I love him very much. I'm sorry I'm not a more regular woman. I truly believe though it is painful to admit, we made a mistake rushing into getting married, for altruistic reasons, and weren't aware or prepared for the consequences on my husband's life and the lives of those close to him. He has been terribly unhappy and I have therefore ended the marriage. I think he is too nice to do so. And too nice to trap.'
'Intense pressure': The singer blamed Herridge's circle for reacting negatively to their sudden union
The Nothing Compares 2 U singer asked for fans and media to respect her husband's privacy, and added: 'Meanwhile I intend to get on with being fully me. With never an apology for ANY part if being FULLY ME. No matter what.
'I am a 21st century full woman and proud of living it. I am in a very good and happy and strong place in life so I am doing fine. The marriage was 16 days. We lived together for 7 days only. Until Xmas eve. And we haven't been awful to each other.
'So while I feel sad for my husband, and sad to be the cause of sorrow to yet another poor man, I'm also happy that I know we weren't horrible to each other and he is better off free. And that I can be me. And that's a freedom I can't give up for anyone or anything.'
She ended the announcement with 'rock n roll'.
O'Connor and Herridge wed at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas after just three months of dating.
'Wild ride': O'Connor revealed a 'wild' journey she took on their wedding night in search of marijuana 'as she doesn't drink' wounded her husband
After the ceremony, for which she wore a pretty strapless pink dress, O'Connor wrote on her blog: 'Dear friends... amongst whom I include whomever may be reading this with a view to writing about the glorious marriage.
'Am blogging this cus media people are naturally seeking me. On Sunday I will put up a blog on whole day. Too glorious for words.
O'Connor also made fun of stars who invite famous friends to their nuptials, by uploading a photo of empty chairs alongside the caption: 'Photo of the celebrity guests at our wedding.'
Loves: O'Connor married friend musician Steve Cooney last year and her first husband John Reynolds (right) is father to oldest on Jake
She has only been dating Barry, who works as a counselor for people with addiction problems in Dublin, for three months.
He replied after she wrote on her blog in September that she was 'sex-starved' and asked potential suitors to apply online.
'Barry sent me this wonderful email, which just took my heart away,' she told the Irish Independent before flying out from Heathrow to the U.S yesterday.
'It had to be him... I had no intention of getting married again but Barry was extremely persuasive. He proposed to me on every single date we have had since August. He is extremely persuasive -- and other unprintable things.'
HUSBANDS AND LOVERS OF SINEAD O'CONNOR
O'Connor has been married three times before and has four children from various relationships.
Her first marriage to musician John Reynolds produced a son, Jake but ended when Jake, now 23, was just a few years old.
Another short-lived marriage, to journalist Nick Sommerlad, followed.
Sinead's 15-year-old daughter Roisine is from her relationship with newspaper columnist John Waters, while her son Shane, seven, was the product of her romance with another musician, Donal Lunny.
O'Connor also had a lengthy on/off relationship with Dermott Hayes and another with Frank Bonadio, who is the father of her son Yeshua, four.
Most recently she married long-time friend and fellow musician Steve Cooney in July 2010, but the marriage lasted less than a year.
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