Don McLean’s ex-wife is furious that the American Pie singer was invited to a state dinner at the White House after he admitted to assaulting her.
Patrisha McLean, 64, and the rock icon split in 2016 following McLean’s arrest on domestic violence charges, to which he pleaded guilty.
She claimed “adultery, cruel and abusive treatment, and irreconcilable differences” in her divorce petition and soon after they reached a $10 million settlement.
Patrisha described their marriage as 29 years of ’emotional, physical and sexual abuse’ and for the attack he was convicted of a ‘four-hour violent rampage’.
Despite this, McLean attended Joe Biden’s state dinner last Thursday with his current girlfriend, former Playboy model Paris Dylan, 30, for Kenyan President William Ruto and his wife Rachel Ruto.
Don McLean, 78, attended a state dinner at the White House last Thursday with his current girlfriend, former Playboy model Paris Dylan, 30
Patrisha McLean, 64, and the rock icon split in 2016 following McLean’s arrest on domestic violence charges, to which he pleaded guilty, and she was furious that he was invited
Dressed in an all-black suit, the 78-year-old told photographers to take pictures of him and his girlfriend, former Playboy model Paris Dylan, 30.
Dylan, who McLean moved on with just months after the split, showed off her much younger figure in a bright pink tuxedo-style jacket as a dress, showing off her long legs.
Patrisha was infuriated by her famous ex’s smile as he happily handed over a 500-strong crowd of Biden family members, celebrities and lawmakers.
‘It is a dangerous and confusing signal. How can President Biden say he supports women and then give him this honor by inviting him?” she told the Portland Press Herald.
“It’s a very scary climate we’re in when the president welcomes a convicted domestic abuser and parades him in front of world leaders.”
She wanted to know how well her ex-husband had been vetted by White House officials and how many people knew about his crimes and still wanted to invite him.
McLean was arrested in 2016 and still claims he is innocent of the domestic violence charges, only pleading guilty to bring closure to the case for his family.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcome Kenyan President William Ruto and his wife Rachel Ruto to the White House
McLean said he spent time with former President Bill Clinton at the state dinner and with country singer Brad Paisley, who performed at the event.
He said this was the third state dinner the Biden administration invited him to, but the first he was actually able to attend.
He was reportedly present at a rally for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last April, when the East Asian leader sang American Pie.
Biden presented Yoon with a guitar that McLean signed while he was on tour in Australia.
McLean told the Press Herald that his ex-wife was a “#MeToo hustler” who “faced two charges of ‘contempt of court.’
His attorneys filed a contempt motion against Patrisha in Knox County Superior Court last August, accusing her of violating their divorce agreement by bad-mouthing him.
McLean also agreed to a 10-year protection from abuse order in 2019.
McLean said he spent time with former President Bill Clinton (pictured with Hilary Clinton at the dinner) at the state dinner and country singer Brad Paisley, who performed at the event
McLean and Patrisha at California’s Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club on April 26, 2014
After they married in 1987, they had two children, Jackie and Wyatt
He still maintains his innocence of the 2016 domestic violence charges and only pleaded guilty to bring closure to the case by ending his family.
“Don has been adamant since day one that he did not do what his now ex-wife said he did,” said his attorney Walter McKee.
“But ultimately he decided it was better to settle the case now and be done with it by entering pleas with no jail time, no probation and only fines.”
McLean paid a $3,600 fine with a good behavior bond.
“I can truly say that my ex-wife is the worst person I have ever known,” he told the BBC Irish times in October 2020.
Patrisha met McLean when she was a 27-year-old newspaper reporter interviewing him for a story, and they hit it off, with Don inviting her to his concert that night.
Their relationship was a “whirlwind,” she said, and moved “very quickly” from the start. Don told her he loved her that very first night, and sent her plane tickets to meet him the next weekend.
McLean moved on with his new girlfriend Dylan just months after his divorce
Patrisha saw his attentions as romantic and felt overwhelmed. Finally, beaten, she quit her job, sold her car and moved across the country to be with him
But the night she moved in with him, she remembers experiencing his “mood” for the first time.
‘I felt trapped. I had no job, apartment or car. When I was dependent on him, I saw his anger. His mood. But before that, life was a fairy tale. It went well,” she said Scary mom in 2021.
While Patrisha says the abuse also manifested itself in non-physical ways, she stated that he could also be incredibly violent.
‘He hit me, kicked me and pulled my hair. He liked to put both hands on my head and squeeze it like it was in a vice. It was his hallmark and trademark. His thing,” she claimed.
‘But the most devastating aspect was the emotional abuse. The physical behavior was more extreme, but the emotional effects lasted longer.
‘I was terrified for the rest of the marriage. I’ve been walking on eggshells this whole time. For 29 years.’
