Singer Anne Murray, who built her career on a carefully constructed wholesome image, now admits she carried on a secret, long-term affair with a married man and used drugs.
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The 64-year-old singer, best known for hits like "You Needed Me" and "Snowbird" in the 1970s, blows apart her straight-laced public persona in a shocking new autobiography titled All of Me.
Anne, from Nova Scotia, Canada, says that now that she’s retired she can finally reveal the surprising truth about her life.
For years, rumors swirled that Anne was a lesbian – rumors the singer claims stemmed from the fact she didn’t have a public relationship with a man. But in private, she was carrying on a secret extramarital relationship with TV producer Bill Langstroth, who was married with two small children.
Anne says the romance began when they were on a trip, smoked marijuana together and kissed passionately.
"However unhappy he might have been in his marriage, he was still married, almost 15 years my senior and also my boss," Anne now says.
"But I was falling in love, fast, and powerless to do anything about it."
Eventually, Langstroth left his wife for Anne, and the couple wed in 1975. They divorced in 1998.
Anne, who sold 54 million records over 40 years, says writing the book – which also details her 20-year ordeal with a stalker and her daughter’s battle with anorexia – was a painful experience.
"These are roads I would have preferred to not go down again, but I did," she said.
