Bruce Blakeman says it’s “surrealistic” that his ex-wife is married to Paul McCartney.
The 70-year-old Republican gubernatorial candidate opened up about the unlikely family triangle during a recent appearance on Errol Louis’s NY1 podcast, where he revealed that he and the 84-year-old Beatle have found common ground — with one explicit boundary. Blakeman and Nancy Shevell, 66, were married for more than two decades before an amicable split, and she later wed the rock icon.
“Well, he’s my son’s stepfather and he treats my son very nicely. He’s a nice guy,” Blakeman said. “Our politics are probably not the same. But we don’t talk about politics.”
McCartney has been vocal about his opposition to President Trump, whom Blakeman supports and has been endorsed by. In his 2021 book “The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present,” McCartney took direct aim at the then-president’s fitness for office.
“We’re faced with the political situation, particularly in the US, where a braggart has been in charge and seems quite unstable to say the least,” McCartney wrote. “He’s shouting the loudest, but he’s not necessarily the smartest.”
Blakeman, who Trump has called “100% MAGA,” has clearly chosen a different path with his famous ex-wife’s husband. The climate change activist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has apparently settled into a functional co-existence with the conservative politician, centered on Blakeman’s son Arlen.
The Nassau County executive’s personal life has taken several turns since his marriage to Shevell ended. Shevell, a former trucking executive at her family’s hauling firm who previously served on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, found her way to McCartney. Blakeman found his way to Nassau County Family Court Judge Segal Blakeman, his current wife.
“Look, I wish my wife well. We were married for 23 years. We had a wonderful child together,” Blakeman said of Shevell.
His focus, he made clear, is on the present rather than the past. He described Segal Blakeman as a “great woman” who is both smart and beautiful, and noted that their blended family has expanded considerably.
“And she’s given me an additional two kids,” he said. “I have two stepchildren now and 3 grandchildren. So, life goes on.”
The entire arrangement still strikes Blakeman as improbable, even after years of adjustment. “It’s a little surrealistic that your ex-wife is married to a Beatle. I’m not going to lie,” he admitted on the podcast.
Despite the political gulf, Blakeman’s assessment of McCartney remained largely positive throughout the interview. He called him a “nice guy” and seemed satisfied with how the former Beatle has handled his role as stepfather to Arlen.
Blakeman is seeking the Republican nomination for New York governor.