Gazza: My Story by Paul Gascoigne

Author:Paul Gascoigne [Gascoigne, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2014-04-24T04:00:00+00:00

“Gazza is no longer a fat, drunken imbecile. He is, in fact, a football genius.”

Mirror editorial headed ‘Mr Paul Gascoigne: An Apology’, after his solo goal against Scotland, 1996

19

MARITAL MADNESS

At least I had something nice to look forward to after the disappointment of once again being knocked out of the semi-finals of an international tournament by Germany: my wedding to Sheryl, and our honeymoon.

We’d decided to get married after Shel and the children moved up to Scotland and we were all happy at last. Why did I decide to get married? Because I loved her. That’s enough of a reason, isn’t it? I always have loved her, despite everything. I promised to be good from then onwards, on my best behaviour. And she believed me. I believed myself.

The marriage took place on 1 July. We hadn’t been able to have it any earlier because we’d thought I’d be otherwise engaged in the Euro 96 final. Some hope. I was offered £150,000 by Hello! magazine for the exclusive rights to cover our wedding, so I accepted it. I spent the whole lot on the wedding – the clothes, food and drink, the honeymoon. Many of the England team came: David Seaman, Ian Wright, Chris Waddle and Paul Ince, and friends like Chris Evans and Danny Baker. Chris had said he’d be the DJ, but he got drunk and forgot about it.

It was a great day. Euro 96, and the season, were over, so we could all relax and enjoy ourselves. The reception was held at Hanbury Manor near Ware in Hertfordshire, a very posh Jacobean-style mansion set in huge grounds. We had the full treatment; the best of everything.

We set off for our honeymoon in Maui, Hawaii – somewhere I’d always wanted to go – on a real high. But the best part of it was the flight there. After that, for the whole of the holiday, we argued all the time. Don’t ask me why, we just did. I was pleased to get home.

Back in Scotland, we settled down for a while, friends again. We were a proper little family, Mum and Dad and three kids. Shel made our house in Renfrewshire very attractive. I later bought a lodge on Loch Lomond as well, for weekends and holidays for us and the bairns.

Everything was rosy – till I began to turn into a bastard again. Oh, for various reasons, most of them stupid. Sometimes I think I don’t know how to be good. That next season, my second at Rangers, was not as great as the first. The other teams knew more about me, so I was marked man-to-man, and I was also drinking quite heavily, because of all my problems returning.

Walter discovered I’d been on the shandies the night before a game, and, in the dressing room, he ordered me to put on my suit and leave, which I did. I went straight through the gates and drove home. Some of the fans saw me and wondered what was going on.

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