Jane Asher announces her split from Paul McCartney – 20 July 1968

Q: How long were Paul McCartney and Jane Asher together?

They were together for five years, from 1963 to 1968, first meeting at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Q: Was Jane Asher at the Yellow Submarine premiere?

No. Jane Asher was absent from the Yellow Submarine world premiere on 17 July 1968, three days before her public announcement. All other Beatles' partners attended.

July 20, 2026

Saturday 20 July 1968 | BBC Television

On 20 July 1968, Jane Asher appeared on the BBC Television programme Dee Time, hosted by Simon Dee, and announced that her engagement to Paul McCartney was over. The couple had been together for five years, having first met at the Royal Albert Hall in 1963.

I haven’t broken it off, but it is broken off, finished. I know it sounds corny, but we still see each other and love each other, but it hasn’t worked out. Perhaps we’ll be childhood sweethearts and meet again and get married when we’re about 70.

Jane Asher — Dee Time, BBC Television, 20 July 1968

The End of a Five-Year Relationship

McCartney and Asher had been together since meeting at the Royal Albert Hall in 1963. During their relationship, Asher had lived at the McCartney family home in Liverpool and later at the Asher family home in Wimpole Street, London, where McCartney famously wrote many songs. The couple had discussed marriage on more than one occasion.

However, McCartney had a string of other relationships, mainly while The Beatles were touring. In 1968 he began an affair with an American woman, Francie Schwartz. Asher arrived unexpectedly at McCartney's home on Cavendish Avenue, London, where she reportedly found him in bed with Schwartz. She walked out and sent her mother to collect her belongings — signalling the end of the relationship.

Tellingly, Asher had failed to attend the world premiere of Yellow Submarine three days earlier on 17 July 1968 — all the other Beatles' partners were present.

Key Facts

Date	Saturday 20 July 1968
Programme	Dee Time, BBC Television
Host	Simon Dee
Relationship duration	Five years (1963–1968)
First met	Royal Albert Hall, London, 1963
Immediate context	Asher absent from Yellow Submarine world premiere, 17 July 1968

In Their Own Words

Paul McCartney later reflected on the relationship in Anthology:

I always feel very wary including Jane in The Beatles’ history. She’s never gone into print about our relationship, whilst everyone on earth has sold their story. So I’d feel weird being the one to kiss and tell.

We had a good relationship. Even with touring there were enough occasions to keep a reasonable relationship going. To tell the truth, the women at that time got sidelined. Now it would be seen as very chauvinist of us. Then it was like: ‘We are four miners who go down the pit. You don’t need women down the pit, do you? We won’t have women down the pit.’ A lot of what we, The Beatles, did was very much in an enclosed scene. Other people found it difficult – even John’s wife, Cynthia, found it very difficult – to penetrate the screen that we had around us. As a kind of safety barrier we had a lot of ‘in’ jokes, little signs, references to music; we had a common bond in that and it was very difficult for any ‘outsider’ to penetrate. That possibly wasn’t good for relationships back then.

Paul McCartney — Anthology

In Barry Miles’ biography Many Years From Now, McCartney was more candid about his own feelings:

I think inevitably when I moved to Cavendish Avenue, I realised that she and I weren’t really going to be the thing we’d always thought we might be. Once or twice we talked about getting married, and plans were afoot but I don’t know, something really made me nervous about the whole thing. It just never settled with me, and as that’s very important for me, things must feel comfortable for me, I think it’s a pretty good gauge if you’re lucky enough. You’re not always lucky enough, but if they can feel comfortable then there’s something very special about that feeling. I hadn’t quite managed to be able to get it with Jane.

Paul McCartney — Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

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Frequently Asked Questions

When did Jane Asher and Paul McCartney split up?

Jane Asher publicly announced the end of her engagement to Paul McCartney on 20 July 1968, during an appearance on the BBC Television programme Dee Time, hosted by Simon Dee.

How long were Paul McCartney and Jane Asher together?

Paul McCartney and Jane Asher were together for five years, from 1963 to 1968. They first met at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1963.

Why did Paul McCartney and Jane Asher break up?

The relationship ended after Jane Asher reportedly discovered Paul McCartney in bed with American woman Francie Schwartz at his Cavendish Avenue home. McCartney later reflected that despite discussing marriage, the relationship never felt fully settled for him.

What did Jane Asher say when she announced the split?

On Dee Time, Jane Asher said: "I haven't broken it off, but it is broken off, finished. I know it sounds corny, but we still see each other and love each other, but it hasn't worked out. Perhaps we'll be childhood sweethearts and meet again and get married when we're about 70."

Was Jane Asher at the Yellow Submarine premiere?

No. Jane Asher was notably absent from the world premiere of Yellow Submarine on 17 July 1968 — three days before her public announcement on Dee Time. All the other Beatles' partners attended the premiere.