Jo Wood has revealed she wanted to prove she wasn’t a victim after ‘letting herself go’ following her split from Ronnie Wood.
The 70-year-old was married to Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie, 78, for 24 years between 1985-2011.
In a new interview with The Times, Jo opened up on the heartbreak and how she picked herself back up.
She explained: ‘After Ronnie I found it’s important to say to myself, “I’m not a victim, I can still enjoy a good life.”‘
She added: ‘When I was really brokenhearted I totally let myself go. I didn’t shave my legs, I didn’t shave anything. I was just miserable.’
Jo recently bumped into Ronnie in a Barbados hotel. He was with his wife Sally, 47, and their twin daughters.
Jo Wood has revealed she wanted to prove she wasn’t a victim after ‘letting herself go’ following her split from Ronnie Wood
The 70-year-old was married to Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie, 78, for 24 years between 1985-2011
When asked about the run-in, Jo laughed and said: ‘Like my Mum used to say about my Dad, seeing him was like putting on a comfy pair of old slippers.
‘The editor of my novel wanted more anger but I refused. The story is not about Ronnie but I do want to send out that message: you have to forgive. It sets you free. I didn’t want to be bitter and angry. You realise that chapter of your life is over and the universe has something else for you. I forgave Ronnie years ago.”
She previously told the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden: ‘I’d only been there a day and I walked into the hotel restaurant and there was Ronnie with his wife and kids.
‘You should have seen his face when he saw me.’
Ronnie is now married to theatre producer Sally, 31 years his junior, with whom he has twin daughters. Jo added: ‘I’m no stalker.’
Jo and Ronnie share children Leah, 46, and Tyrone. She also became stepmother to Ronnie’s son Jesse, 48, from his first marriage.
She is also mum to another son, Jamie, 50, from her first marriage to clothing entrepreneur Peter Greene.
Jo previously shared the secret to her close relationship with her ex-husband Ronnie, whom she has remained on good terms with since their 2009 divorce.
She explained: ‘After Ronnie I found it’s important to say to myself, “I’m not a victim, I can still enjoy a good life.”‘
She said: ‘I’d only been there a day and I walked into the hotel restaurant and there was Ronnie with his wife and kids’ (Ronnie pictured with wife Sally last week)
She said: ‘I know that I can pick up the phone and ring him if there’s anything, like, trouble or anything like that.
‘But I could do that with Keith [Richards] as well. I saw Keith recently, with Patti [Hansen, his wife]. I’m fine with them all. I didn’t do anything wrong!
‘When you have children and grandchildren, I think it’s important… I like to know that I can say, ‘The kids have been, you know, even though they’re grown up. Have a word with them!”
In recent years, Jo has ditched the rock-and-roll lifestyle from her marriage to Ronnie for an eco-friendly countryside cottage.
Aside from WiFi, Jo said she more or less lives self-sufficiently and has traded in her days of drinking and joints for homegrown veg and is even creating a capsule supplement called Longevity to boost her health.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Jo admitted that she didn’t have an addictive personality which made it easier for her to walk away from the party lifestyle after it suddenly dawned on her one day that way of living wasn’t what she wanted.
Jo revealed the hilarious nickname given to her by her grandchildren as she admitted they know all about her wild drug-taking rock and roll past.
The former wife of The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood was known for embracing the party lifestyle in her younger days.
Last year Jo revealed she had left her wild nights of partying behind for an eco-friendly countryside cottage (pictured)
The TV personality moved to the old farmhouse in 2019 and has embraced ‘off-grid’ living, generating her own electricity and nurturing her own vegetable patch
And the star admitted her grandchildren are now calling her ‘Gangsta Granny’ after she revealed some of her past antics to them.
Speaking on Good Housekeeping UK’s podcast My Life in A Biscuit Tin , Jo said: ‘I know I shouldn’t say this, but I was in the car with them and they were giggling, two of them [grandchildren, Maggie and Kobe].
‘They went, “Gran, have you done any drugs?” I said, “Of course I have, but I don’t recommend it”.
‘I said, “Because it didn’t get me anywhere except lots of sleepless nights”.
Explaining how she believes it is important to be honest with your family she added: ‘You can’t be dishonest, because they’ll find out.
‘So, I tried to warn them it was a waste of time, but I was in a very special situation. So then they said, “We’re going to call you Gangster Gran from now on.”‘
She has 10 grandchildren in total, four from Jamie, two from Leah and four from Jesse.
