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Van Morrison heartbroken after lover Gigi Lee dies of cancer

Singer kept tragic news quiet for two months

By
CATHAL DERVAN,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Sunday, December 11, 2011, 11:51 AM
Updated Friday, December 16, 2011, 1:21 PM

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Van Morrison


Van Morrison has been rocked by the tragic death of his lover Gigi Lee, mother of his two-year-old son George Ivan III.

The 44-year-old woman died from cancer at their Belfast home just two months ago, but the reclusive singer managed to keep it quiet.

Ireland’s Sunday World and Sunday Independent newspapers have broken the story and reported that the singer is "heartbroken."

The American-born Lee was diagnosed with cancer while she was pregnant and refused to undergo radiation treatment to protect her child.

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The Texan was Morrison’s tour manager on his 2009 Astral Weeks concert series and had set up home with the singer in Newtonards, just outside Belfast.

Lee’s death on October 7th was kept a secret, even from her close friends back in the USA.

Carla Higdon, who fell out with Lee after she took up with Morrison, told reporters she was unaware her childhood friend had died.

“I had no idea, nobody here knows she is dead,” said Higdon who refused to reveal details of her rift with Lee which saw her ordered out of the house she helped furnish.

“Gigi was my friend, my lifelong friend. I looked after her when she was sick. She was pregnant with little George at the time so they couldn’t use radiation treatment.

“But for so long she refused to believe she had cancer. I set up home for Gigi, I looked after the house for her, I did everything for her, so when we fell out it was very sad.

“I have always been there for her, we had always been so close but when someone accuses you of doing stuff you didn’t, it’s difficult.”

Morrison and Lee had lived together in Ulster since the birth of their son two years ago but were rarely seen in public together.
 

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See more: News from Ireland , Entertainment news , Van Morrison
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7 Comments

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GeorgeDillon | Dec 13, 2011, 03:04 PM EST
EphraimKibbey: That's actually not true. When I read your post I did a search for Gigi's pics on the net. There are lots of them. She was a very good-looking lady. And a noble one too, as she refused radiation when pregnant so as not to harm her baby. Van Morrisson? Not so noble. He swore black and blue that he wasn't the father of the baby. So what cuddlybunny says below is just nonsense.

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cuddlybuddly | Dec 13, 2011, 10:23 AM EST
I'm sad for Van, She was the love of his life

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EphraimKibbey | Dec 12, 2011, 07:10 PM EST
Easy to find a pic of Morrison - not so easy to find one of her since he kept her out of the limelight. Maybe there would be some from the 2009 tour she managed. She was very couragous to sacrifice her health for the safety of her child. It would be nice to be able to put a face with the name.

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GeorgeDillon | Dec 12, 2011, 04:29 PM EST
Irishwriter: So you think it normal that when someone dies a picture of someone else gets published? You're weird.

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snakehips | Dec 12, 2011, 04:22 PM EST
Very sorry to hear about Van Morrison's bad news. It is tragic to lose someone so young and so loved. My condolences go out to him and his child and I pray that they will find peace during this very tough period.

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irishwriter | Dec 12, 2011, 07:31 AM EST
Though tragic, it's not exactly newsworthy if you take Van out of the equation. I don't think there's anything slovenly about that...plus, what stateside website is actually reporting this? You probably wouldn't have known about it without slovenly journalism on your screen right now. Just sayin'.

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GeorgeDillon | Dec 11, 2011, 04:48 PM EST
More slovenly journalism from Irish Central. They give us a picture of Morrison but none of the lady who died. Do they think Ms Lee was a nobody compared to Morrison? Shameful.

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