Duke Fakir mourns the lost of Mary Wilson

[captainjames]

http://https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9523675/duke-fakir-mary-wilson-supremes

[sansradio]

captainjames, your link is not working for me. Here's a retry:

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9523675/duke-fakir-mary-wilson-supremes/

[captainjames]

Thanks === not sure what happen

[danman869]

Perhaps I'm misinformed, but... wasn't Duke [[all of the Four Tops, actually) married during the time at Motown? So, Mary and Duke were more "having an affair" than dating and getting engaged. This isn't judging, it's more setting the story straight so I know what actually happened from what the press was/is told. The Four Tops' personal stories are not as well-known as, say, the Supremes.

[milven]

Unless he had a previous marriage, he has been married since 1980 to his current wife. The affair with Mary was about the time that the careers of both the Supremes and Four Tops started to skyrocket, around 1964. They put their careers first, dropped the relationship but kept the friendship.

And then there is Tom Jones. In one of her books, Mary said that initially, she did not know that he was married.

When she found out, she assumed that Tom Jones thought she would know as did most of his fans knew. She says after finding this out, she “felt betrayed.” She resolved to break up with him but she could not. “I realized that I couldn’t. It was too late.” She spent her time traveling to meet up with Jones – even just for a night – which she called “the height of romance. Tom's wife had to be aware of the playboy life that Tom led. But perhaps his affair with Mary was more than she could handle because she threatened to castrate him if he did not terminate the affair.

These affair stories can be told of every Motown star. They were all human and had personal lives just as we do.

But it is the music and concerts that will be forever remembered, not who they may or may have not slept with

[reese]

Perhaps I'm misinformed, but... wasn't Duke [[all of the Four Tops, actually) married during the time at Motown? So, Mary and Duke were more "having an affair" than dating and getting engaged. This isn't judging, it's more setting the story straight so I know what actually happened from what the press was/is told. The Four Tops' personal stories are not as well-known as, say, the Supremes.

In her first book, Mary wrote that when she and Duke met, he was separated from his wife. When Mary bought and renovated her first house, he moved in with her and they became known as "the Sweethearts of Motown."

After living together for about two years, Duke decided that he should give his marriage another try, as he had a young daughter to think about. Also, their schedules were always in conflict. They remained friends.

[captainjames]

Duke has been married at least twice that I know of and always said how much he loved Mary. Also Duke still lives in Detroit Michigan as far as I know.

[danman869]

Thanks for all the clarifying info, folks. Much appreciated!