Ali Condon
Since his passing last week, people have been remembering rock 'n' roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis for disrupting the music industry, and his seedy life behind the scenes.
Just one element of the 'Great Balls Of Fire' singer's dark lifestyle was his concerning marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Myra Williams.
Myra, who was Jerry's second cousin once removed, was nine years Jerry's junior when they eloped, and went on to have two children together.
Following the rock pioneer's death, Myra, now 78, has spoken out about her life as Jerry Lee Lewis's child bride, the harsh judgement she faced from the public, and the abuse she suffered behind closed doors.
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It was Myra and Jerry's controversial marriage in 1957 that wound up killing the musician's climb up the charts.
When news broke of the wedding, Jerry was torn apart in the press, while all music promo and tour dates suddenly came to a grinding halt.
"I was the bad thing in his life", Myra told the Los Angeles Times following Lewis's death on Friday (28 October).
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"It was because of our marriage that his career hit the pavement. You know, you were judged for everything you did back then."
While newspapers described Myra as a 'child bride' at the time, she insists that, during their marriage 'I was the adult and Jerry was the child'.
Myra, who divorced Jerry in 1970, explained that she was the one who took care of everything for the rock pioneer, despite the age gap.
That includes managing the finances, buying a home for the couple when Jerry was out on the road, and caring for their two children.
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"I mean, I didn’t even have a driver’s license," she said. "I did all the work and made all the decisions and did all the running and taking care of business and that kind of stuff."
That sure is a lot to take on as a teenager.
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Myra said that when her father found out about her marriage to Jerry, he 'got his gun.'
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She recalled: "That was not a happy moment. Daddy felt very betrayed by that. I was his 13-year-old little girl."
Eventually though, Myra's dad came around and accepted the marriage.
"There was just no choice. I mean, killing Jerry was not an option. It was his first thought, but it wasn’t an option."
Looking back, Myra, who went on to become a real estate agent and then an author, said that it was drugs that broke down their marriage in the end.
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She said: "His personality just became mean. And nasty. It was like a whole different man. Just bad, you know?"
Myra filed for divorce in 1970 on the grounds of adultery and abuse.
Despite the controversy surrounding their relationship from start to finish, Myra insisted that she wouldn't go back and change it.
"I might tweak it a little. I would tweak it a lot. I would tweak the hell out of it. I would be smarter," she joked.
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"But how smart can you be when you’re 14 years old? You’re a stupid kid at that age. You’re just not ready for it."
While Myra went on to re-marry twice - first an 18-month fling that she described as an 'absolute fiasco' and then to her husband of 39 years Richard Williams - Jerry wound up marrying four more times before his death.