The love triangle with Eric Clapton and George Harrison exposed in the letters auctioned by his ex-wife

The love triangle with Eric Clapton and George Harrison exposed in the letters auctioned by his ex-wife


Former model Pattie Boyd is selling letters revealing her infamous love triangle with guitarists Eric Clapton and Beatles star George Harrison.

Former model Pattie Boyd is selling letters revealing her infamous love triangle with guitarists Eric Clapton and Beatles star George Harrison.

Boyd was important to both artists in the 1960s and 1970s, inspiring music SomethingHarrison’s classics and Clapton’s hits, Wonderful tonight AND Layla.

Initially married to Harrison, she was approached by his close friend, Clapton, in a series of passionate love letters.

He is now auctioning off the two men’s letters, along with other assets.

Boyd met the Beatles when she was cast in the film A night of a hard day (The kings of Iê, Iê, Iêin the Brazilian version) of 1964, and immediately felt a connection with Harrison, his famous “quiet” guitarist.

“He was quite shy, like me. I think that’s why we got along well,” she said in an interview published on the Christie’s auction house website.

They dated for two years before marrying in January 1966, during which time the Beatles toured frequently.

“George was so lovely when he was away,” she said. “He missed me, and I missed him so much, and he wrote amazing letters and wonderful cards.”

A note in the auction shows an excerpt from a letter from Harrison: “I hope you’re well. I miss you. I’m starving – lots of grilled cheese sandwiches. Love you.”

Clapton was a frequent guest at the couple’s home in Surrey, south-west England, but, unbeknownst to his friend Harrison, he had a crush on Boyd.

“Is there something in your heart for me?”

In 1970 Clapton sent him a letter. “I am writing this letter to you for the main purpose of discovering your feelings on a subject well known to both of us,” he began.

“What I would like to ask you is whether you still love your husband”

And he continued: “All these questions are very impertinent, I know, but if there is still something in your heart for me… you must let me know!”

“Don’t call! Send a letter. It’s much safer.”

Boyd initially thought the letter was from a fan, only realizing the truth when Clapton called her later that day.

A second letter was written several months later, on a page that Clapton had torn from a copy of the novel Of mice and menby John Steinbeck.

‘It’s me’

“Dear Layla,” Clapton began, using the nickname he had given Boyd. “Why do you hesitate, I am a poor lover, I am ugly, I am very weak, very strong, do you know why?”

“If you want me, take me, I’m yours… if you don’t want me, break the spell that binds me. Caging a wild animal is a sin, taming it is divine. My love is yours.”

He later wrote the song Layla for Boyd.

“It was so beautiful and magical,” Boyd recalled. “I was so flattered, but also very worried that George would find out why Eric wrote that song.”

Boyd initially rejected Clapton’s advances, but after his marriage failed in the early 1970s, the musician invited Boyd to join him on tour.

Their romance blossomed and they married in 1979, with the blessing of Harrison, who began calling Clapton “husband.”

Eventually, however, Clapton’s alcoholism and infidelity weakened the marriage and the two divorced in 1989.

Boyd, the daughter of a retired Royal Air Force bomber pilot, was a famous model in the 1960s before turning her attention to photography.

Next month he will sell his memorabilia, including letters, paintings, photographs, jewelery and clothes.

Among the lots are a doodle of Harrison’s, in which he drew a self-portrait sitting under an apple tree, and a Christmas card he made for her in 1968.

“I’ve had them for so many years, a long time,” Boyd, who turns 80 in 2024, told British newspaper The Telegraph. “I thought, why don’t I just sell everything and let everyone enjoy it?”

One of the highlights of the auction is the painting The young daughter at the bouquetby Emile Théodore Frandsen de Schomberg, which served as the album cover Layla and other assorted love songsfrom 1970, by Clapton’s band Derek and the Dominoes.

Clapton purchased the painting from the artist’s son because the blond hair and attractive almond-shaped eyes of the depicted figure reminded them of Boyd. It is expected to sell for up to £60,000 (around R$378,000).

Boyd told the Telegraph he asked Clapton’s permission before selling the assets.

“He asked me if I was selling Layla’s painting and I said yes,” she said. “She said, ‘Maybe there are other things you can sell too.’ So he’s absolutely delighted that I put it all up for auction.”

Source: Terra

You may also like