Victoria Mary Clarke says kids ‘wouldn’t have survived’ life with Shane MacGowan

The writer and The Pogues front man were in a relationship for more than 40 years until Shane sadly died on 30 November 2023 at the age of 65.

Victoria is a guest on the latest episode of the ‘What A Woman Podcast’, hosted by Caroline Lyons and Sarah Benner.

Speaking about having kids, she said: “It wasn’t part of our story. I don’t think children would have really survived, honestly I don’t.”

The hosts were impressed with Victoria’s “refreshing” and honest take on the fact that not everyone wants to be a parent.

“I’ve never understood that. That would be like you telling me that everybody should want to be a bungee jumper or a racing driver – I can’t understand that. It doesn’t make sense to me.

“I can see how people think that having children is going to give them some kind of continuity, something will live on when they die or maybe somebody will look after them when they’re old. I can see that because there’s a practical side to it.

“But I just never.”

The journalist and artist explained how she reacted to Shane’s death and the aftermath.

“It’s nothing that you could ever really prepare for, I don’t think. I’m sure there are people that have had a similar situation, but until it’s happened to you, you don’t know how you’ll react.

“It was something that I would have been afraid of for a very long time, because very soon after me and Shane got together people started telling me that he didn’t have very long to live. That would have been in 1986.

“People started telling me that Shane probably had six months to live, because of the way he pushed himself.

“I spent most of the time worrying about him and worrying that something was going to happen to him.

“But even then, you might worry about something but that doesn’t mean you know what it’s going to be like. It’s like worrying about a car crash. Until you’ve been in a car crash, you just don’t know what it will really feel like.

“It surprised me that it wasn’t all terrible. I assumed that you would go into a deep depression and nothing would lift you out of it, that you would lose the will to live completely and stay like that.

“I had experienced depression and that’s what it feels like. I assumed it would be like depression, but worse.

“It did surprise me that we were able to celebrate Shane. At his funeral there was a lot of laughter, dancing and singing. People enjoyed the funeral,” she said.

Victoria added that Shane “loved people on the margins” and would always stop and talk with homeless people, as well as giving them money.

Victoria said this “changed her outlook” on life, watching him share drinks and cigarettes with them.

Shane was “not impressed by famous people” but far more impressed by “taxi drivers.”

Victoria said she “began to see that too,” and it completely altered her. She no longer wanted to be “behind the velvet rope,” but rather with “real people.”

Victoria also spoke about the inspiration behind her creativity. She makes scarves with angel designs.

“I had already been channelling angels, I paint angels. I had been getting their messages since the 90s and writing them down.

“They suddenly decided they wanted to be visible.”