About the song
For decades, Tom Jones was more than just a voice — he was a force of nature. The man behind “It’s Not Unusual” and “Delilah” conquered charts, stages, and hearts around the world. But behind the glittering suits and magnetic swagger was a man living a double life — one he’s finally begun to talk about openly.
Now in his 80s, the Welsh legend has looked back on his years of fame with an honesty that’s both shocking and deeply human. “I won’t sugarcoat it,” he admitted. “I had countless affairs. I was addicted to the attention — it was like oxygen to me.”
At the height of his fame in the 1960s and ’70s, Jones was a global sex symbol. Women fainted at his concerts; hotel lobbies overflowed with admirers. “It wasn’t planned,” he said. “It just happened everywhere we went. I was on the road constantly, young, full of energy, and women were… there. Always.”
He once estimated that he had slept with up to 250 women a year, a number that became legendary in tabloid headlines. “It sounds ridiculous now,” he said with a laugh. “But back then, that was the life. Everyone around me treated it like part of the job.”
But while the world saw a confident charmer, Jones admits he often battled guilt — especially toward his wife, Melinda Trenchard, known as Linda. The two had been together since they were teenagers, marrying at just sixteen. Despite his infidelities, he insists his love for her never wavered. “Linda knew everything,” he revealed. “She didn’t like it, of course, but she understood who I was. She was my anchor. No one ever replaced her.”
Their marriage, though strained, endured for nearly sixty years — until Linda’s death in 2016 from cancer. That loss, Jones says, changed everything. “When she died, it broke me. I realized how much pain I must have caused her. All the fame, the madness — it didn’t mean anything compared to her.”
Since then, Tom has spoken with a raw vulnerability rarely seen in rock icons. “I look back and think — why did I need all that validation? I had the love I needed at home. But when you’re living on stage, adored by thousands, it’s easy to forget who you are when the lights go off.”
Despite his confessions, he refuses to dwell in regret. “You can’t rewrite the past,” he said. “All you can do is face it.” His music, even today, carries that tone of reflection. Songs like “I’m Growing Old” and “Not Dark Yet” feel less like performances and more like confessions — a man stripping away decades of myth to show the truth beneath the legend.
And though the stories of his affairs may still fascinate fans, Tom Jones seems to have found peace in honesty. “I’m not proud of everything I did,” he said quietly. “But I lived it. And if you can face yourself in the mirror after all that — maybe that’s the real victory.”
