How much does it cost to heal a broken heart? If you're Noel Gallagher, around £800,000 should be enough.
Friends have told me that this extraordinary figure was their estimate of the bill the former Oasis frontman recently received after checking out of the £2,500-a-night Claridge Suite, where he had retreated after his marriage to the PR manager Sara MacDonald had failed.
Even for a rock star worth around £56 million, it was enough to cause a gulp.
Noel recently revealed he was spending much of 2023 at the upscale art deco hotel, one of London's finest.
His 700-square-foot junior suite, which featured a large living area, featured its own fireplace, piano, and extra-deep marble bathroom (complete with Claridge's custom bath products).
Sara McDonald and Noel Gallagher during the Q Awards 2018 – the couple split in 2023
Claridge's Hotel in London's Mayfair served as a refuge for Gallagher as he tried to get over the breakup
A room at Claridge's, where nightly rates can be up to £2,500 – food and drink not included
Gallagher performs on stage during a Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds performance at Wembley Arena in December
Each suite in the hotel is tastefully decorated in the classic cream colors favored by the super-rich, with extra-plush sofas and lounge chairs, and has been individually designed by a renowned interior designer, either Michelle Wu, Pierre Yves Rochon or BOS Studio.
Residents can also use the Linley-designed card room to conduct business meetings. A concierge is available 24 hours a day and serves light bites from Claridge's kitchen. The on-site gym features personal trainers and Peloton bikes. During their free time, guests can go swimming and immerse themselves in an electrolyte-rich relaxation pool.
The hotel also features a decadent Japanese-style spa—complete with steam rooms, saunas, and a range of treatments from acupuncture to vitamin infusions—and even its own art gallery.
So far, so luxurious. Still, how on earth did Noel manage to pull off such an extraordinary bill?
I'm told that while there was a discount for his loyalty, the accommodation alone probably cost him around £400,000.
Of course, the rest included the bar bill – mostly room service.
Sources say Noel was happier in his room hosting parties for his friends rather than enjoying the numerous opulent bars and restaurants the five-star hotel has to offer.
And his parties are dominated by the hotel's signature Garibaldi cocktail – a mix of Campari, passion fruit and lemon priced at £22, the hotel's fine wines, selected by an on-site sommelier and costing up to £600 a bottle, and the singer's favorite drink, lager (the hotel's craft beer costs £10 a bottle), the bill obviously added up quickly.
French fries to cure your hangover the next morning also come with a significant cost – around £45 per portion. Two boiled eggs alone cost a whopping £18 and were served to residents in their rooms.
Noel himself admitted this week: “I had a damn good time there.”
However, one can't help but wonder why Noel doesn't just rent a fantastic house or apartment in London for a year instead of spending so much of his fortune on a huge hotel bill? That, friends say, is a sign of how confused he was when his second marriage failed.
“Noel was devastated at the prospect of a divorce,” a friend of the star tells me. “He loved Sara so much and thought he would spend nights with her in his slippers watching TV for the rest of his days.”
“His heart was in pieces and he didn't quite know what to do with himself, so Claridge's seemed like a nice reward.” He's got the money, so why not treat himself? It was about giving himself a little TLC, some self-care, at a time when he really needed it.
“But woah, when he realized how much it was costing him, there was a moment of 'Oh my God.' But he looks back fondly on it, he needed that time.” Even this friend admits it was a loud time. “There have been some big nights in this room,” they say. “There were long nights when he drank with his 'muso buddies'.”
“Noel wanted to unwind for a short time and forget what his future would be.”
£20m divorce: Noel Gallagher and Sara MacDonald
Gallagher and MacDonald, 52, who have sons Donovan, 16, and Sonny, 14, separated last year after 22 years
In fact, Noel – who is still estranged from his younger brother Liam – was seen enjoying the company of attractive women during his stay at the hotel in the city. Meanwhile, renovations were being completed on the bachelor pad of his dreams in north-west London. So Claridge's was the perfect – albeit expensive – stopgap solution.
Even without Claridge's bill, 2023 was an expensive year for Noel.
His bitter divorce eventually led to him handing over around £20million, a sum that included cash and the £8million family home in Hampshire where he and Sara raised their sons Donovan, 16, and Sonny, 14, as well included further maintenance payments. Noel and Sara first met in Ibiza in 2000, when he was still married to his first wife, another PR manager, Meg Mathews, with whom he had daughter Anais, now 23.
A year after Noel met Sara, he and Meg separated – and the couple began dating. They tied the knot in a romantic £60,000 ceremony at the luxurious Lime Wood Hotel in the New Forest in 2011.
As a special tribute to Sara's Scottish heritage, bagpipes were played on her big day. But despite the initial happiness, it didn't last. Noel left the family home in January 2023.
Apparently one problem was Noel's growing obsession with a new studio complex he had built in north London which he would describe as his “potting shed”, which was the 56-year-old's passion rather than his wife's. Sara is four years younger than him.
“They were both wild once,” says a friend. “But Noel limits his excesses and limits himself to social drinks in the evening.” His new studio “is the ultimate man cave,” says a friend. “There are amazing original works of art by his famous friends.”
Among the paintings is one of John Squire, guitarist of The Stone Roses. There is a mural of John Lennon, David Bowie and Johnny Rotten on the outside of the studio building. On display are gold records from his own catalog and others given to him by friends such as Paul Weller, The Stone Roses and Johnny Marr.
A lounge area is decorated with personal memorabilia – including a life-size cutout of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola in one corner. Noel is known to be a fan of the football club.
A comfortable sofa area allows Noel to relax between recording sessions with a beer from a fully stocked alcohol fridge – but more often he sips a cup of tea prepared for him by his on-site technician.
Friends often meet him there – Paul Weller is a regular guest and recorded his own album there.
Friends say Noel would often spend all day in the studio and only come out after dark, while he spent the days “playing around with ideas and technical production equipment.”
Gallagher, 56, broke his silence on his divorce from ex-wife Sara McDonald earlier this week, a year after the couple split
In an interview about the breakup, he said: “Go outside my wonderful ex-wife's house, give her a quick wave and say, 'You didn't take that away from me!'
Elsewhere in the interview, Noel (l) shared his thoughts on reforming Oasis with estranged brother Liam (r), before claiming the band would probably be “broken up in an afternoon” these days (pictured in 2005).
In order to save their marriage, Noel initiated a family vacation to Spain in mid-2022. Her sons also came along and they were accompanied by friends for part of the trip.
Pictures showed Noel pensively appearing on a luxury yacht off the island of Formentera in July that year, dressed in a stylish olive green shirt and gray shorts.
Meanwhile, Sara was seen in a yellow mini dress as she skipped around the boat, seemingly without a care in the world.
However, behind the scenes, friends told me that the Oasis star had already been thinking about the fact that he might be heading towards his 60th birthday without Sara by his side.
The couple filed for divorce at the end of 2022, which became public in January 2023.
Noel then made a candid statement saying: “When you're in your mid-50s, you come to a bit of a crossroads in your life.” It's not uncommon for people who have been in long-term relationships to go their separate ways in their 50s go.
“I know a lot of people who are in the same boat as me and Sara. Especially after the pandemic. “The midlife crisis thing applies to men and women.”
Representatives for the couple insisted they would “continue to care for their children together, who remain their priority.”
But Noel later gave insight into how bitter he was about giving up so much of his money as part of the settlement, suggesting things had not remained amicable.
In an interview with comedian Matt Morgan's podcast, he took a swipe at his ex-wife.
Elaborating on the fact that he would soon be living in north-west London, he said: “I can get on my bike and go outside my wonderful ex-wife's house and give her a little wave – and say, 'You didn't take that.' from me.' '
After a tumultuous year, it seems his expensive stay at Claridge has brought Noel all the good in the world.
Speaking this week about his new start in 2024, he admitted he has put his noisy hotel days behind him and will now be abstaining from alcohol for the next six months.
“I moved over Christmas,” he says. “I drank a lot, but I thought, 'I could use a quiet drink,' which is what I drank.”
“Maybe I had a party at Christmas and one at New Year.” After Christmas there will have to be a new health regime for me. I feel [terrible] if I'm honest. Actually, I'm going to try to quit alcohol. I’m looking forward to not doing much for the first six months of the year.”
Instead, he says, he “set up his studio” to make new music. It appears there are no more hotel stays on the horizon, which his bank manager will be very relieved about.