Daniel O’Donnell was a gift from God. Meeting him saved my life

The wife of singing sensation Daniel O’Donnell has revealed how meeting the country music legend saved her life.

Majella O’Donnell, 54, was utterly devastated after the disintegration of her first marriage to Raymond McLennan.

Left broken by her split with the Glaswegian businessman, the mum-of-two spiralled into a suicidal depression. But today, The Sunday Post can reveal how a chance encounter with O’Donnell saved her life, bringing her back from the depths of despair.

The full extent of just how low Majella sunk into depression is laid bare in her new autobiography, It’s All In The Head.

The 54-year-old said: “I was miserable as hell for a long time. But I will never, ever feel that way again. It seemed to be a constant struggle being married to Raymond, but that’s not the case with Daniel. We seem to just flow along through life together.”

Majella was left devastated after her marriage to first husband Raymond failed amid allegations he had been unfaithful.

At her lowest ebb, Majella fled to a sunshine bolthole in the Canaries, where her parents had a bar. And it was there, quite by chance, she met Daniel.

Majella said: “I told him on the second date that I was going to marry him. Can you believe it? He must have thought I was a woman possessed.

“There was just something telling me that we were going to get married and I’d never had that before. I believe that things are meant to be and Daniel and I definitely are meant to be.”

On Christmas Day 2001, Daniel proposed, giving her a stunning diamond and emerald ring. He later described how it was planned with military precision.

Daniel revealed: “When I asked Majella to marry me, it was very, very romantic. My friends and family had come to my house for Christmas dinner, but I couldn’t get Majella on her own to pop the question. I managed to persuade her to go upstairs to call her mother to wish her a merry Christmas.

“Then I took the phone off her and said to her mum, ‘Marion, I’m going to put a ring on your daughter’s finger’.

“Majella was crying. Marion was crying and I thought, ‘God, this is getting ridiculous’. It was love at first sight.”

The couple married in Daniel’s home town of Kincasslagh, County Donegal two years after they met in Tenerife. A special annulment had to be granted from the Vatican before the multi-million album-selling singer’s marriage would be recognised by the church.

The wedding brought Ireland to a standstill and broke hearts all over the world.

Majella said: “Many people want to know what Daniel is really like and I find it very hard to put it into words without sounding completely biased. I can honestly say that I have never met anyone like him in my life.

“He is the most selfless person I know and his main focus in life is trying to make other people happy in whatever way he can.”

Majella was bright-eyed and bushy tailed when she arrived in Glasgow in 1986. She met her dapper first husband McLennan after landing the role of conference and banqueting co-ordinator at the Hospitality Inn in Glasgow where he was already working. They married after a whirlwind romance and, six months into the marriage, she was pregnant.

Their daughter Siobhan was born on December 1, 1987.

However, suffering from post-natal depression, she then suffered a miscarriage. Although she was to have a second child, Majella’s life fell apart amid claims of McLennan’s infidelity.

She said: “I felt physically sick to my stomach and experienced a huge feeling of betrayal. I knew then that even if we managed to sort things out, my life as I knew it had changed forever.”

Despite everything they went through together, the pair remain on good terms.

“When I look back on it now, I have no idea why Raymond decided to marry me at all,” she said.

Mr McLennan declined to comment when contacted. But Majella added: “Nowadays, we have a very amicable relationship and Daniel and I have met Raymond and his wife Teresa on a few occasions.” And, without the break-up, she would never have met Daniel.

“He’s my gift from God,” said Majella.