Lucky He Did It In Marbella

'Mr Marbella' admits to affair with 16-year-old aspiring singer

By NIAMH HORAN, Entertainment News Reporter
Sunday September 26 2010
Celebrity Irish DJ Maurice Boland has been having a secret affair with a 16-year-old teenager in Marbella.

Known as "Mr Marbella", the former Irish nightclub boss, who has been married for 40 years, had his long-standing contract with Talk Radio Europe on the Costa del Sol suddenly terminated last week when the affair with the teenager came to light.

Mr Boland was helping the young entertainer prepare to sing in his Marbella talent competition, The Wow Factor, which he set up in aid of a cancer charity, when the affair took place.

Speaking for the first time about his relationship with the 16 year old, Mr. Boland told the Sunday Independent he made a "terrible" mistake.

"I made an error of judgement," he said. "I got involved with someone. I have been married for 40 years next year. I have been in the media and nightclub business for many, many years and I've never had an affair.

"This is the first time it's happened. I made a very bad misjudgment, which is terrible and hurt a lot of people, including my own wife and her family and my children. And all I can say to those people who are hurt -- I am sincerely sorry."

The news will come as a shock to those who know Maurice Boland from his days as a high-profile nightclub owner when he launched the late-night club culture on Dublin's Leeson Street. Later he joined forces with La Stampa owner Louis Murray to launch Barbarella's nightclub.

Mr Boland and his wife Wendy were a glamour couple of Dublin's social set and moved to Marbella, Spain, in the Eighties, where they became part of the ex-pat Irish social scene. Wendy is very well known among the ladies who lunch and has her own business as a party organiser, mainly for Irish people.

Mr Boland himself is well connected with the ex-pat Irish community and frequently has guests over from Ireland as well as interviewing a string of famous people, including British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Mandy Smith, who claimed her relationship with Rolling Stone Bill Wyman began at the age of 13 and who went on to marry the ageing rocker, later worked for Mr Boland in his club Cuba. He eventually became her agent, promising to make her a star. Under his tutelage, Mandy landed a few modelling jobs and began to take herself seriously as a singer, cutting a record in 1987 called I Just Can't Wait.

Mr Boland confirmed this weekend that his wife is standing by him and that his family are struggling to get through it together.

"It's been a very rocky time for us. My family have rallied around me and obviously they are not happy with the situation, but we love each other very much. We're a very close family. I shouldn't have got involved with anyone," he said.

"My wife is coping. We have a lot of years behind us and I pray we'll have many years ahead of us. I'm very upset -- not for me as much as I am upset for my wife and our children and her family as well. I don't give two craps about me, who cares? But I do care about my wife, I do care about my children, I do care about her and her family."

Speaking about the liaison with the young girl, he explained how he had set out to help her build on her musical talents but their relationship eventually turned into something more.

He said their relationship started off as a working relationship while he helped her with her music career, saying, "It was a very short involvement and it was never planned. Some of these things just happen.

"It came about through circumstance. The wrong time at the wrong place. There's nothing planned about it."

Asked how his working relationship crossed the line, he replied: "I can't answer it. I can't answer because there was no plan. How do these things happen? I don't know.

"It came to light, people found out and that was it," he said.

"There is no rape involved, no illegality involved, so there's nowhere else to go with that."

Drawing on the young girl's age, he said, "The reason that anyone is showing any interest is because of the girl's age, but I've done nothing illegal. She is of legal age. I have done nothing illegal."

"She's 100 per cent over 16. Not that I feel any better. I'm feeling awful about everything. I didn't set out to have a relationship with anyone, or to have it with someone so young. It was just a misjudgment on my behalf.

"These things happen in life. Why do they happen? I have no answer at all. It certainly wasn't planned or anything," he said.

Mr Boland said he will be "withdrawing from public life" for the foreseeable future, including taking a step back from all radio and charity work. His Wow Factor competition, the final of which was due to run in November, has also been cancelled.

Drawing on the termination of his contract at Talk Radio Europe, he said: "Radio was my whole life. It's just awful. I don't know if it's the end. It's too early to make any decisions yet."

He added: "I think it's very important that people understand that there's been a lot of hurt involved in this whole thing and they should make up their mind to leave the families alone. All I can say is that I'm very upset that this happened, very upset and very sorry. It's been the lowest moment in my life ever."

- NIAMH HORAN, Entertainment News Reporter

Sunday Independent