Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife tells of confrontation on train over her false leg ‘taking up too much room'

Perth Now

3 days ago

Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife had a confrontation with a man who told her she was taking up too much room with her false leg.
Heather Mills, 57, shared the incident in a video posted to social media, filmed from her seat on a South Western Railway service.
The former model and activist, who was married to Sir Paul for six years, said the confrontation began when a man complained about her stretching out her leg.
Unaware that one of her legs was prosthetic, the passenger accused her of taking up too much space.
Heather lost her left leg below the knee in 1993 after being hit by a police motorcycle in London. Since then, she has become a prominent campaigner for amputee rights and prosthetic technology innovation.
Her video, in which she appears in a red tracksuit and yellow-rimmed glasses, shows her calmly explaining the challenges of travelling with a prosthetic leg.
She said: 'I just literally had a moany man who was asking me to move my leg. I tried to explain and he wouldn't listen. So I took my leg off – and he shut up.'
Heather added: 'This is for everyone who travels on a train and is getting annoyed because of a tall leggy blonde who's having to stretch her leg out.
'The reason for this is because you can't pull your leg right in because the underneath of the prosthetic cuts into the back of the leg. So just think twice before you turn your nose up.'
Heather became internationally known in 2002 when she married Paul McCartney.
Their high-profile divorce was finalised in 2008, resulting in a £24.3 million settlement. Since then, she has focused on business ventures and activism, including founding a vegan food company and campaigning for animal rights and advances in prosthetic technology.
She has spoken previously about the daily discomforts and social misunderstandings faced by prosthetic users.
'Comfort and mobility often require adjustments that the public may not immediately understand,' she said in an earlier interview.
Heather has been in a relationship with film producer Mike Dickman, who is nearly 20 years her junior, since 2019.
Beyond activism, Heather has also excelled in sport.
In 2015, she was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest disabled female skier in the world, clocking a speed of 102.5mph (164.95 km/h) in Vars, south-east France.
She began skiing competitively in 2010 at the age of 42, and went on to win four gold medals at the 2012 Skiing World Championships in Aspen.