Carly Simon has written a pointed new song about her ex-husband James Taylor, more than four decades after the couple's bitter divorce and years after they stopped speaking. The 83-year-old singer-songwriter, who was married to Taylor from 1972 to 1983, included the track "Maybe I Never Loved You" on her 24th studio album, which drops this Friday.
The song's lyrics read: "Maybe I never loved you / But anyway, I thought I did / I married you, we had a kid / That counts for something." Other lines, reported by Page Six, include: "Maybe you never loved me / Although God knows, you said you did."
New album Comes in Waves
"Maybe I Never Loved You" appears on Simon's new record, Comes in Waves. Additional lyrics include: "Maybe I never loved you / Yes, and maybe I did," and "And maybe it's best to bury whatever it was we had our fill of / Maybe I never loved you / Maybe I always will."
Simon and Taylor, 78, welcomed two children during their marriage, daughter Sally, 52, and son Ben, 49. The union has been described as "far from the idyllic" and ended in part because of infidelity on both sides.
Decades of collaboration
Simon and Taylor recorded an estimated 20 songs together, with their biggest duets being "Mockingbird" in 1974 and "Devoted to You" in 1978.
Simon is also known for her 1972 number one hit "You're So Vain," which she wrote about three men, including her former lover Warren Beatty, with the line: "You probably think this song is about you."
What Simon has said about Taylor
In 2015, Simon told People that she still loved Taylor "so much," even though the pair hadn't spoken in more than a decade. "I still want to heal him, I still want to make him all right. And I love him so much," she said, adding that her "incredible loyalty to him, in spite of the fact that he has treated me without any regard, has been so painful to me for so long."
Simon also addressed Taylor's heroin addiction at the time, saying: "If it hadn't been the drugs, if the demons that were in him went someplace other than drugs, it would have been something other than drugs that would have been difficult to live with I think too."
Simon wrote and recorded her new album, her first collection of original songs in 18 years, at the Martha's Vineyard home she once shared with Taylor.
Taylor's life since the marriage
Taylor has been married to his third wife, Caroline "Kim" Smedvig, since 2001. The couple share 25-year-old twin sons, Rufus and Henry. Taylor continues to tour and is next scheduled to perform on August 30, September 1 and September 2 at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia.
Simon was married to businessman James Hart from 1987 to 2007 and is reportedly now dating surgeon Richard Koehler. She has previously been linked to Jack Nicholson, Mick Jagger, John Travolta and Cat Stevens.
Simon's recent health struggles
On July 27, Simon announced that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease after noticing mobility issues, and that she had undergone surgery for basal cell carcinoma on her face. "It is difficult, frustrating, and sometimes frightening. I am still learning how to live with it and how to accept it without feeling that I have surrendered something essential," she wrote.
"These days I move more slowly, I lean on others more than I once did, and I have learned to accept that every day will look a little different. But I am still very much here," she added.
Simon previously underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and reconstructive surgery for breast cancer between 1997 and 1998. She has not appeared in public since performing at the 31st Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert & Gala at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2018.
Simon's influence and legacy
Simon has influenced younger singers including Taylor Swift, Tori Amos, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sara Bareilles and Natalie Maines. She has sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Simon began her career in 1963 performing with her late sister, Lucy Simon. She has 1.9 million social media followers and draws 6.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
