Jo Wood, the ex-wife of Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie, has revealed the end of their relationship was the ''best thing that could have happened'' as it made her more independent.
Jo Wood says her break-up from Ronnie was the ''best thing'' for her.
The ex-wife of the Rolling Stones rocker recalled him telling her it was over because he wanted to pursue a romance with then-19-year-old Katia Ivanova - but he offered to try to repair their marriage if it failed.
She revealed: ''I said, 'I don't think so.' I got up, drove off and that was it - and on reflection it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I'd always had the protection of the Stones around me. I'd never been independent, so initially I was numb.
''Then, after a few months of moping around, my eldest son Tyson said, 'Mum, you've got to get yourselves together'.
''Soon I started to grow as a person and by the time the divorce came through in November 2009 I felt independent again for the first time since my early twenties.''
The 57-year-old star bears no ill will to her ex-husband and is delighted he's ''stopped drinking'' and found happiness with third wife Sally Humphreys, who he married in December last year.
She told the Daily Mail newspaper: ''I can survive without him. And I'm happy for Ronnie too. I still think he's a genius guitar player and he should be proud he's finally stopped drinking and I'm happy he's found somebody else too. I just hope he doesn't go back to what he was like.''