This is the most bizarre story. This is a photo of singer Edie Brickell leaving court yesterday after she and husband Paul Simon were both arrested for an alleged domestic dispute. I should have mentioned Paul first. People know who he is, but Edie only had that one hit song … “What I Am.” They’ve been married since 1992 and seemed like an odd couple when they hooked up. There’s their 24 year age difference and she’s super tall while he’s tiny, but they made it work. Until now, that is.
The details are sparse surrounding the fight that led to Paul and Edie’s arrests. The NYDN says it was a shoving match. The altercation must have been pretty bad if the police were called to their suburban Connecticut home. The strange thing is that when Paul and Edie went to court, they both acted like nothing happened. Edie admitted she started an argument, and somehow they got arrested for “disorderly conduct.” They both sound sort of surprised to have ended up in court. You decide:
Guess the marriage is still crazy after all these years.
The songbird spouse of singer Paul Simon said Monday that she started a spat at their Connecticut house that got them both arrested for disorderly conduct.
“I got my feelings hurt and I picked a fight with my husband,” Edie Brickell said in a statement. “The police called it disorderly. Thank God it’s orderly now.”
Paul Simon leaves Norwalk Superior Court after being arraigned for disorderly conduct Monday morning.
Paul Simon and Edie Brickell leave court separately after being arraigned on Monday.
Dressed in a navy blue suit and a green fedora that he took off before taking the stand, Simon admitted he and Brickell hit some troubled marital waters, but insisted “both of us are fine together.”
“We’re going to go home and watch our son play baseball,” Simon said in the Norwalk, Conn., courtroom. “We had an argument, which is atypical of us. Neither of us has any fear, or any reason to be threatened.”
Brickell, dressed in ankle boots, skinny brown jeans and towering over her diminutive husband, chimed in, “He’s no threat to me at all.”
Judge William Wenzel cut the couple a break and declined to issue a protective order on the condition that they behave themselves.
Then Simon, 72, and Brickell, 47, left the courtroom hand-in-hand. They are due back in court on May 16.
“Edie and I are fine,” Simon told reporters. “We love each other. We had an argument, that’s all.”
[From New York Daily News]
No one knows what happened except Paul and Edie, but this seems strange. These two laughed off the fight, and Paul called it “atypical.” I don’t want to sound judgy, but I once had neighbors who fought like crazy. They’d always swear it rarely happened, but that was a lie. I hope Paul and Edie were telling the truth and that they simply lost their minds for a moment in time. The judge in this case believed that they were okay to go without a restraining order. That must mean something, right?
Photos courtesy of Getty & WENN
It must have been pretty bad for their neighbors to call the police. For some reason, it annoys me that she took the blame and said she started it. That just seems to feed into the whole stereotype of a woman getting beaten up and people asking, “well what did she do to deserve it.” Idk.
Oh, I don’t know. I know this will sound odd (but it’s totally truthful): I’ve been picking a LOT of fights with my significant other over the past year. All of a sudden, he started irritating the crap out of me. He wasn’t doing anything “wrong” or even differently. Things that never bothered me before started bothering me a LOT – to the point that I’d pick a fight for the emotional release. Turns out – it was hormones. Pre-menopause. It effects women differently, but for me, it caused wild mood swings and emotional outbursts. There were days I would wake up and everyone and everything pissed me off. Went to the doctor, had some blood work – now I feel like myself again. Edie is 48. I am not saying that was her problem, but I am saying it’s totally possible for women to pick fights and admit they’ve done so.
Yeah, I mentioned it below. Plus he was the one speaking, and he looked very embarrassed. He said “Neither of us are afraid of the other”. If she had been the one pushed or attacked, I’d think the judge would have wanted to hear from her, that she felt safe, FWIW.
Oh, Laurie, I hear you. I had a year and several months during peri menopause when I was in a constant rage. It was so awful. I wanted to knock the block off of anyone who was unfortunate enough to come across my path, including my husband, poor thing. One day, he made a very mild comment about me leaving something on his chair, which I took as a criticism, and I marched around the whole house, picking up anything of his and screaming, “is THIS mine?” and then flinging it across the room while frothing at the mouth. He just froze and finally the look on his face made me burst out laughing and he starting laughing, too. Then he hugged me and said how awful I must feel. Luckily, he has a sense of humor and is very compassionate. So, thank you, I see your point.
I see yours, too Kiddo. I was wrong to assume she was the one being shoved.
@GoodNamesAllTaken, I know it probably, most definitely, wasn’t funny at the time, and yet, am I evil for finding that VERY funny? It’s just such a hilarious visual.
“Then he hugged me and said how awful I must feel.”
wow…you got a keeper…
No, Kiddo, you can laugh. It was not funny at the time, but we both laugh about it now.
What made me go off the deep end was the cortisone (steroids?) that you get sometimes with chronic pain in your joints or your back. I had to get a series of shots in my back and one of the things contained was cortisone. After a couple of them I found myself getting mad at the drop of a hat. My easy going nature went out the window. It finally went away after I ended the shots but there was a distinct and obvious change in my personality. Point being….some of the medications we are given to help us can also do the unexpected to our personalities.
@doofus, yes, I did. Thank you.
What are you talking about, GoodNames? This sounds just like me! (But I can’t blame it on menopause.)
My beloved Hubs gets on my last nerve when he’s high handed enough to criticize me for stuff HE does routinely! Drives me nuts.
Then he laughs his ass off at my “0 to 60 mph” temper! Gah! I lurve him.
To me it seems like he might be in the abusive relationship (if there is on). I think she could easily take him
It was the first thing that crossed my mind too, Mouse. Simon’s old, he’s little, and it’s typical of men being abused to hide their shame. That Edie’s chiming in, “He’s no threat to me at all.” sounded like a gloat and a threat all wrapped up in one.
Same thing occurred to me. Men are often abused, as are elders. I also found something oddly sinister in her words, I don’t know why and we can’t know the tone in which she spoke but it did raise a flag for me.
Jesus.Two old hippies in a slapfest? Maybe they were arguing over the merits of Shailene Woodley ?
^^^Nice!^^^ 😀
It sounds like someone in the house called 911, and one of them was a little scraped up. Sounds like something a little beyond arguing whose turn it was to go to the dump.
I believe from what I heard this morning, that her mother called the cops. So most likely, she was in the house with them and possibly overreacted?
Doesn’t anyone remember when Darryl Hannah was involved in some kind of domestic altercation with Paul Simon, and she called off-and-on boyfriend John Kennedy Jr. to come get her? It’s been a lot of years ago, and I don’t remember the details.
My point is, there’s history of Paul Simon’s domestic “temper tantrums.”
No that was when Darryl was with Jackson Brown IIRC
I just looked it up, maybe you are thinking of Jackson Browne?
That was Jackson Browne.
Yep, that was Jackson Browne.
My bad. You are all correct.
Yep, it was Jackson Browne and he did get physical with Daryl Hannah. She ended up with a real shiner of a black eye and was on the cover of People Mag when JFK, Jr. flew to her rescue!
Jackson Browne did have a rep for being a bad-tempered, violent jerk. He got physically violent with Darryl, chased her out of the house, etc.
He actually had no such reputation and no one from his past or present with the exception of Hannah, has ever accused him of being violent.
Browne’s a very talented man but stories of his mistreatment of women have been around since his first wife committed suicide. Also, see Joni Mitchell’s Not to Blame.
On the news last night, they said her mother was present and called the police. If any neighbors had heard it, it would have had to be alarmingly loud because they don’t seem to have anyone very close to the massive mansion. Don’t automatically assume that Paul was the aggressor. With his diminutive size and age, it’s possible his wife had the upper hand. Who knows?
Yeah, they both seem to be all right and I don’t know that I’ve heard of them having these kind of problems before.
I had no idea who she was until I saw them reference “What I Am” and it’s been stuck in my head since yesterday.
Lol blue marie, are you whatchu are or what?
The news report I read indicated that police believed both were being aggressive.
Since you mentioned the upper hand, I just have to say this….. what is going on with his fingernails??? Look at the second picture, above the tire. Jeez, I hope he didn’t scratch her during the spat. Those are talons!
That’s his guitar-pickin’ hand! Paul Simon is still a hell of a guitar player. He keeps the nails on his right hand longer for that reason. Watch him play up close sometime—-he’s fantastic.
I’m confused. Who called the police? Was it a neighbour? Was it Edie or Paul? If it was a neighbour, then it must have been some kind of “argument”; if it was E/P, then presumably it was violent enough that one of them got scared. Either way, their reaction to it is strange.
From the daily mail: someone called the police and hung up then Edie’s mom, who was at the residents called the police.
yes, it was the mother who called the police.
A 48 year old man got together with a 23yr old woman and no one side eyed?
Great that it worked out, but I still side eye.
If we side-eyed every time that happened, we’d never see what’s in front of us.
That’s a great life mantra @ Kiddo!!! I’ll have to remember that when I’m feeling judge-y!
Best comment I’ve read in a while!
Kiddo: I am ALWAYS judgemental of the older partner in relationships that started when the younger partner was pre-25yrs old, and there is a significant age gap between them.
It’s a cliché for a reason.
Lol, Kiddo, maybe that’s why I keep running into things.
Bahahahaha. Thank you Kiddo. I’m nursing a cold and your post gave me a much needed laugh.
I remember people totally doing the side eye at the time, esp as she was a one hit wonder and he was ‘PAUL SIMON’. Most people thought she was a gold digger.
Of course, that was 20+ years ago-so somehow that relationship/marriage must have worked out. I think a big part of it was that she gave up singing for a while and just took care of the kids.
Does anyone remember that Paul Simon was once married to Carrie Fisher?
Yeah, it’s definitely a big age difference. I love Kiddo’s response, but have to admit to giving them the side-eye.
Even though Paul is now old enough to be a grandpa, I wonder if he’s been screwing around and that’s what triggered the supposedly atypical fight? In any case, it must have been pretty bad for the police to actually arrest them both. The whole situation seems very sketchy to me; I don’t buy that this is the first time they’ve come to blows.
Imma go ahead and side-eye whatever he did to his face. I would guess there was a face lift a few years back, and some current millers (man-fillers).
Oh, yeah, MaiGirl. Paul Simon wins the Meg Ryan Award for Best Plastic Surgery.
Yeah it’s not pretty. Probably should have left well enough alone, he was no great beauty to begin with.
When I saw this yesterday I could not believe what I was reading. Paul Simon is one of my all time favorites, hands down. Edie Brickell was one of my favorites in the 90s (Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars was one of a few really good albums she has recorded). Also, she has a very good recent album with Steve Martin (one of the best of last year). Anyway, this couple seems so free and easy, but I have seen interviews with Edie Brickell, and I get the sense that she is a little nuts. She said she got her feelings hurt and picked a fight with her husband. I kind of wonder if Paul Simon isn’t cheating, she found out, and went all Elin Nordegren on him. I don’t know, but when you have been with someone that long, it has to be something major to get into a crazy ass fight in which the cops are called.
I just came here to say that the album she did with Steve Martin (!) is awesome all the way around. And I’m not been into that sound.
their language is extremely defensive re her feeling threatened. and she took the blame. doesn’t sound like this was a one off but there was a witness that intervened.
he’s always been a giant egomaniacal jerk. idk @ her.
OT, he looks like he has steroidal moon face or alcohol bloat. so puffy faced.
Kind of off topic – but his nails! They are so long on his left hand. Eww
Maybe he’s left handed? Guitar players can have long nails: Like picks.
Yup, that’s for playing the guitar.
Thanks for the info.
He’s right handed. He has to keep the nails on his left hand short for the fingerboard, & he keeps the nails on his right hand long for his finger-picking playing style.
His face looks extremely puffy and strange. Could it be fillers?
Sometimes a spouse who discovers that they are being cheated on will have cosmetic surgery to “compete” with the other person….
Yip I was thinking the same thing (about his face)!!
What happened Paul??
He’s also 70+ years old. Let’s cut him a break on his physical appearance.
I don’t think the issue is about ‘giving him a break’. Something just looks very unnatural about his appearance. Looks like fillers and botox to me, but I’m no expert.
It’s not his age, it’s the cosmetic procedures that I find unappealing. There is nothing wrong with age, I happen to think he would have looked much better without the fillers and surgery. His face looks like a mask.
He’s had a lot of facelifts, and probably fillers over the years. His face was naturally puffy in the 60s until he lost some weight in the 70s and early 80s, so that + weight gain.
I wrote the same thing upthread. It’s not just aging, which I would give him a break for, as Mother Nature is yanking us all groundward. He’s got something going on up in there.
To CB’s everlasting credit, it is always front and center on CDV issues. However, elder abuse is also a vastly unreported crime. Not saying that’s what’s going on here, but the fact that he is 72, it’s a possibility. I read somewhere else that Paul S agreed to leave the house, at least for the night. I hope they get counseling.
when someone begins to have dementia, there can be physical struggles due to confusion, and the spouse of course would not want to press charges and would be protective. in pix on another site of them in the courtroom, he looks older than his age and a little lost, so that crossed my mind.
Very good point. My uncle became violent when his dementia began, and eventually had to go into a nursing home because my aunt, who loved him dearly, couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t hurt her or himself. That could be it.
I saw him in concert with Sting last month and believe me, there’s no dementia. In fact he stole the show from Sting – brilliant concert.
I hope he doesn’t have Alzheimer’s, that would suck. My step-dad had it and would be a different person in the evenings, sundowner syndrome, not fun. And Jaded, it is a strange illness and it is possible for people to perform and conceal it during it’s earlier stages even if they are experiencing episodes of confusion and anger. Hopefully it’s not that.
Fair point, but I think it’s a pretty big leap to make. I never understood why Art Garfunkel was called the frightened gazelle, because Paul was always the stunned, slightly uneasy-looking one. Seems like being an active, touring musician would stave off dementia or any memory problems because he’s socially and mentally engaged, always learning or re-learning things, writing lyrics, etc.
@ Jade- I’m glad the concert was a success. However, remember performing is his comfort zone. Stuff that may not bother him on stage could at home. You have to wonder if the fact a fresh set of eyes observing their behaviors (her mother) may open theirs.
@Tig – he may very well be a miserable curmudgeon at home but to put on that level of performing shows that he’s in full control of his mental faculties. Of his emotional faculties I have no idea and wouldn’t presume to guess what triggered the fight. Those commenters who are automatically taking sides and assigning blame have not lived with them so shouldn’t presume that he’s got a violent streak or degenerative mental condition or she found out that he has a mistress and got drunk and beat him up or whatever. Couples fight, anything can trigger a loud, ugly exchange, let’s just put it down to one of those moments in a marriage when things get out of control for whatever reason and we’ll never know why, nor should it matter. I always imagine how it would feel like to have some of my old fights broadcast over social media to the entire world, and I feel sorry for celebrities whose private lives are endlessly invaded and hashed over in public.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but did he not have a turbulent relationship with his last wife Carrie Fisher?
Carrie Fisher has some issues. I’m not saying this points to anything, maybe an attraction to a certain type, or maybe an attraction to someone like himself, that he is aggressive, we can’t know.
I was just trying to remember what she said about him in her memoir. I know it wasn’t super flattering but I don’t remember any abuse, I think he just kind of ignored her if I remember correctly. I think he was passive aggressive when his artistic juices weren’t flowing or something. These two might have just had a one off heated spat, it happens. Maybe there was alcohol involved. Maybe he is jealous her career is having a mini renaissance with her Steve Martin album.
I had no idea they were married. Must have missed that one!
Hopefully nothing physically violent actually happened and they really are OK.
So, who called the cops?
It was a hang up 911 call. There were injuries but don’t know what. It was called a minor incident by the cops, they have three kids together, and Simon did not return home.
http://www.heavy.com/entertainment/2014/04/paul-simon-wife-arrest-charged/
It’s a really, really bad idea to assume Paul was the instigator just because he is a man, or speculate Edie took the blame for his bad behavior. Violence and emotional abuse against women is very serious. So is abuse against men. It happens, a lot. It goes underreported because of attitudes that it is exclusively a women’s problem. A man may be more likely to beat you to death due to increased muscle tone the majority of men have over the majority of women, but emotional abuse has a lot more parity. Let’s not be so quick to assume the woman is the mist likely victim and she’s just taking the fall because she’s coerced.
And we really don’t know if violence, or emotional abuse, even broke out. The cops may have been called to investigate a noise complaint or the possibility of the fight escalating. We really don’t know what happened. I hope it was just a one-off. My husband and I rarely fight, but we’ve had some good rows in our day. I can honestly say something like this could have happened to me in the right circumstances.
Yes, I assumed exactly what you said – that he was the abuser and she took the blame – until other com mentors reminded me that this was not necessarily the scenario. Good point.
I meant commenters, stupid auto correct.
Everyone here is trying to figure out ‘what really happened’, but the fact is they’re rich and its Connecticut. Those 2 things alone mean they will be treated differently from the rest of us, and the only thing the likes of us will really know about it is the spin their lawyer tells the press. At first there was supposed to be a press conference by the police further explaining the what went on, but that got squashed pronto by Simon’s team. He’s tight with a lot of very powerful and influential people. All you’ll ever know about what happened is what Simon wants you to know.
Hmm, I think this is pretty much the same thing that would happen to any squabbling couple with no criminal history. The cops arrested them to avoid trouble and defuse the situation and the DA or whoever sees no point in pursuing a legal issue that goes no where. They are rich and privileged but this incident is very run of the mill and common. We don’t hear all the details of anybody’s fights, even outside Connecticut.
Alright, it’s a slow work day so I’m going to stir some sh-t up. Why no outrage? Where is the call to arms to string him up for domestic violence? A report was filed! I say this sarcastically because there seems to be A LOT of hypocrisy on this site as to who gets called out for this sort of stuff and who doesn’t. A similar situation happened with Diane Lane and Josh Brolin years ago and he’s still considered public enemy #1. Is the difference that Paul is small in stature? That he is a beloved musician? Edie is a tall woman? I don’t get it. Let’s discuss.
I think the difference may be that they were both arrested and ended up in court? I don’t follow Simon enough to know if this is repeat behavior.
Was there was more than one documented fight between Brolin and Lane? I know there was a time when Brolin was getting drunk on the regular and picking fights with random folks. Brolin seems really angry, and Simon doesn’t really give off that vibe?
You make a good point though.
No, just the one with Lane. But yeah, he’s been in documented bar fights with other people (men) and has been arrested. So, I guess that’s the difference.
Also, it’s unclear what happened, and she said it was her fault. I know a lot of abused women do that, but people seem to be unsure of who shoved who, etc., and it didn’t seem to be more violent than shoving and shouting.
I’m not sure I follow the logic that we have to have the exact same reaction to general circumstances in every case. Sometimes people get the benefit of the doubt for a reason, and sometimes the assumption of guilt and the outrage is due to past behavior.
Agreed. I have said myself, (in other posts) that each situation is different and broad brush strokes simply can’t be painted. I suppose it just seems unfair sometimes as to who gets villianized and who gets a pass. Such is the world, I guess.
These two are too old for this trashy behavior. Paul is definitely a case for facial hair. He and George Lucas should not be without it.
They have kids, right?
I’m not sure about their ages, but maybe that’s why the mother got worried about the level of aggression during a fight; she didn’t want to get between them and wanted to keep everyone safe? Obviously, I’m speculating here, but I just get concerned about children in these types of situations.
Lots of wrong assumptions in these comments. Puhlease!
Her mother dialed 911, then hung up. Their kids are teenage.
A male called 911 then hung up. They think it’s Paul who called and hung up. Then Edie’s mom called the police. They were arrest and changed with disorderly conduct. No children were present for the fight.
wow, his face reminds of of the apples in the farm heroes saga. Must be awful being married to a man old enough to be your father.
I don’t know if it varies state to state, but in my state the police say if they have a 911 hang up call they HAVE to go show up and check it out regardless.
But they don’t have to arrest anybody, right?
Has anyone considered that she might have “shoved” him in the shallow water, before it got too deep?
This kind of thing is not funny in tony Litchfield County. Heaven’s no.
Let me just take the time to say (write) that I love Paul Simon’s music so very much. I wish he and Edie the best.
There’s been plenty of times that law enforcement could’ve been called to arguments I’ve had with my beloved SOs. Doesn’t make us bad people, just loud people.