Phil Collins is known the world over as one of the most notable figures in popular music,
though the star hasn’t had a very easy life. From his multitude of tumultuous marriages to
his recent onstage injuries that have called the future of his career into question,
Phil has been plagued by tragedies since his early years. Join Facts
Verse as we examine how the tragedy of Phil Collins just keeps getting worse.
Phil Collins Was a Child Actor Phil Collins was born on January 30,
1951. His mother was a theatrical agent, which allowed young Phil an early entrance into the
world of entertainment. With his mother’s connections, young Phil worked as both an
actor and a model during his childhood years. One of his most notable acting roles as a child
came via the production of Oliver!, in which Phil was cast as the character of Jack Dawkins
or the Artful Dodger. Despite his early acting and modeling work, it quickly became apparent that the
thing young Phil was most passionate about was making music. The young boy was particularly
taken with the drums and began drumming for a few locals band during his school years.
After making an early entrance into the music scene during his school years, Phil would go on
to join a band by the name of Flaming Youth. In 1969, when Phil was still a teenager, the band
released their first and only album, which was titled Ark 2. Despite the fact that Ark 2 wasn’t
a huge commercial success, it proved a hit with the critics. Flaming Youth sadly never recorded
another album, though Ark 2 stands today as a cult favorite thanks to Phil’s later fame.
Once it became apparent that Flaming Youth didn’t have a future, Phil started looking
for other bands to join. Several years later, Phil would end up joining the band Genesis
as a replacement for original lead singer Peter Gabriel. However, before taking up with the band,
Phil would experience his first brush with tragedy via the tragic passing of his father.
The Tragic Death of Phil Collins’ Father
While Phil’s mother had been a theatrical agent, Phil’s father was an insurance
agent. Phil’s father was named Greville, and he tragically passed away in 1972.
Phil was busy trying to make a name for himself in the music scene at the time and thus wasn’t
afforded the opportunity to spend much time with his father during the latter’s final days.
In fact, Phil wasn’t even aware that his father’s health was suffering. Greville had fallen ill, but
the family had kept the information from Phil out of fear that it would mess up his career plans.
Phil’s family had kept the news of Greville falling ill from him hoping that the musician’s
father would recover. However, things ended up getting worse for Greville and
he passed away before his son could even be given the news that he wasn’t feeling well.
Phil was just barely into his adulthood at the time that he received the tragic news that his
father had passed away from a heart attack on Christmas Day of 1972.
Phil’s burgeoning musical career prevented him from being with his father on his final days, and
this would be far from the last time that work has gotten in the way of the star’s personal life. In
1975, the same year that he joined the band Genesis,
Phil married first wife Andrea Bertorelli. Their marriage would be plagued with numerous issues,
and most of these issues stemmed from the fact that Phil was too busy with his new band.
When Andrea gave birth to their first child, Phil had her induce labor so that he could
witness the birth and still be able to attend Genesis’ upcoming concerts.
Phil’s First Marriage Ended Poorly
It seems that Phil Collins was much more focused on his work with his new band
than he was with his new family. After forcing his wife to induce labor, Phil didn’t end up being
around very much to help her take care of their new child. This child was a son, named Simon, and
he is the first of five children that Phil has had over the course of his lifetime.
First wife Andrea Bertorelli was understandably upset about how little Phil Collins was there for
her after the birth of their son. Phil left to go perform with Genesis while Andrea was still
recovering from the birth in the hospital, and the pair would end up divorcing after being married
for only around five years. Their divorce came in 1980, at which point Phil was first starting
to transition away from his work with Genesis and start up his own successful solo career.
Phil’s first big solo single was the song “In the Air Tonight”, which was about his first marriage.
According to Phil, Andrea had left him for a house painter. As a result, Phil included a paint
bucket and a paintbrush as part of the set when performing his new solo single on Top of the Pops.
It seems that Phil was fairly bitter about his first wife divorcing him and leaving him
for another man, and the star did everything that he could to try and keep the public on
his side in the wake of the divorce. Andrea would come out many years later claiming that
Phil wasn’t completely honest when it came to all of the things that he said about her in the
presses in the wake of their separation. Phil was certainly the one with the bigger public voice,
and his story of what went down drowned out Andrea’s. Phil tried to paint himself as a
sympathetic figure, though it seems that much of went wrong in his first marriage
was his own fault. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the
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Phil Collins Has Been Sued by Two Ex-Wives In October of 2016, Phil Collins released a
memoir by the name of Not Dead Yet. This memoir included accounts of Phil’s first marriage.
By this point, Andrea had suffered enough of Phil publicly dragging her through the mud
and decided to sue her former husband for the disparaging stories that the memoir contained.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the only time that Phil Collins has been sued by an ex-wife.
Following his divorce from Andrea in 1980, Phil Collins went on to marry his second wife, Jill
Tavelman in 1984. This marriage ended up coming to an end in 1996 after it was revealed that Phil had
been involved in an extramarital affair. During their separation, Phil faxed his second wife
a long letter explaining how he felt about the situation. When the tabloids caught wind of this,
they spun the story to make it seem as if the star had broken up with his second wife via fax.
At this point in time, it seems that the public just loved to hate on him. During their marriage,
Phil and Jill had a daughter named Lily, with Lily being Phil’s third child overall. Phil
and Andrea had a second child, named Joely, before divorcing.
Phil Collins married his third and hitherto final wife in 1999, and her name was Orianne Cevey.
Regrettably, Phil’s relationship with Orianne has been his most tumultuous so far! The couple
had two children early on in their relationship, and then Orianne fell into a spell of postpartum
depression. Phil and Orianne ended up separating in 2006 before officially divorcing in 2008.
During their marriage, Phil Collins also began suffering from the first of many health problems.
Phil Collins’ Long History of Poor Health
Early on during his and third wife Orianne’s marriage, Phil suffered from an ear infection
that left him half deaf. Sadly, this would end up being merely the first of many health
issues that the star has suffered from in the years since. Later in the decade,
Phil was performing alongside his former band Genesis during a reunion tour when he suffered
a serious neck injury that made it so that he needed surgery. Even after the surgery,
Phil found it hard to use his hands and could no longer play his preferred instruments.
This neck injury eventually caused Phil to go into a period of retirement in 2011,
though this retirement sadly wouldn’t help out much with the star’s failing health.
Phil attempted during this period to patch things up with Orianne and spent as much time
as he could with their two kids. However, things took a turn for the worse when Phil
started drinking to pass the time. After his retirement, Phil became a full-blown alcoholic,
and his alcoholism significantly worsened his already failing health. Shortly afterward,
Phil nearly passed away as a result of acute pancreatitis. The star eventually decided that he
needed to get back to work, so he came out of retirement in 2015. The same year, Phil officially
got back together with Orianne for a short period of time before their relationship soured
once again. Later, Orianne would sue Phil after he sold the mansion that they had lived in together.
In the years since coming out of retirement, Phil Collins’ health
has only gotten worse and worse. He has suffered several significant injuries, many of which were
received during musical performances. It was the star’s failing health that inspired him to publish
his aforementioned 2016 memoir. It seems that Phil is still trying his absolute best to continue to
perform as his health worsens, though it’s getting harder and harder for the aging rock star. Phil
Collins is now 71 years old, though he has many lifetimes’ worth of regrets.
Despite Phil Collins being one of the most notable figures in popular music, the star has
never been able to catch a break when it comes to his personal life. Now it’s time to hear from you:
did you know that Phil Collins forced his first wife to induce labor while she was
pregnant with their first child so that he could make his upcoming tour dates, and
that the rock star has been sued by two of his three ex-wives? As always, like this video
to show your support, subscribe, and hit the notification bell if you’d like to
be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!