My advice to Macca - just cut and run

My divorce wasn't the worst by a long way: it was quick, there were no children involved, and no argument about a settlement or property. But it hurt so much that I still get the shivers thinking about it.

When I got divorced earlier this year I had one sleepless night after another, as I wondered how it all went wrong and relived every petty domestic squabble we ever had, while fearfully contemplating my future. My friends and family were very supportive but I still felt isolated; I had, after all, lost the woman I'd built a life with.

Divorce is a bitter, frantic, lonely and exhausting experience. Macca should pay Heather Mills what she wants just to end the torment. That woman has the tenacity of a pit bull: who else could achieve as much fame and fortune with no talent, average looks and one leg? She makes Madonna look like a flake. Sir Paul might be richer than God, but aged 65, the soppiest member of the soppiest band in history doesn't have what it takes to beat this diva.

He's an old man who's seen his final stab at lasting happiness disintegrate. He's estranged from the woman he was once in love with and separated from his four-year-old daughter, Beatrice. And now he's locked in an acrimonious struggle over money that could end up in a public mud-wrestle in the High Court. At his age, he doesn't need the bother and could buckle under it.

I co-owned a house with my ex-wife but I signed it over to make a quick, clean break. Its value had risen 50 per cent and I could have squeezed a nice sum out of it but I had enough clarity of mind to know that money wasn't worth rowing about. My ex had supported me while I wrote a novel and became a writer, and I didn't want anything more from her. I took heart from knowing that I'm young enough to start over again and build something of my own.

Sir Paul should acknowledge that he'll never have the bailiffs knocking at his door, whatever Heather takes from him. Money becomes a weapon, with both sides using it to exact revenge and to bolster their egos. But amid the chaos of a divorce, it's sometimes wise just to cut and run. The money isn't worth the hassle.