Bob Geldof would like to legally adopt Tiger Lily Hutchence
Irish singer, songwriter, and activist Bob Geldof, 56, is interested in changing late Michael Hutchence’s daughter’s surname according to Michael’s sister, Tina. Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, 11, has been raised by Bob since the death of her mother, Paula Yates, in 2000.
After Michael passed away, Bob went to court and obtained full custody of his three daughters with Paula and has since become an outspoken advocate of fathers’ rights. After his ex-wife passed away from an overdose, Bob became the legal guardian of Tiger Lily Hutchence, believing it best that she be raised with her sisters: Fifi Trixibelle Geldof, 24, Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof, 18, and Little Pixie Geldof, 17.
Tina told the recent issue of New Idea magazine that the reason Bob would like to change Tiger Lily’s last name to ‘Geldof’ is so that he could legally adopt her. She said:
It’s not enough that he should have Tiger Lily, but he thinks he should adopt her and change her name.
Tina has also reported that the Hutchence family has received a letter from Bob Geldof’s lawyers informing them of his intention to change Tiger Lily’s name.
Bob and Paula were together for 18 years — in 1994, Paula left Bob for Michael, and her and Bob’s divorce was finalized in 1996. Michael Hutchence was found dead in 1997, while a heroin overdose took Paula’s life in 2000.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Thanks to CBB reader Elizabeth.
- Posted on Nov 12, 07 at 3:10PM
- Permalink
- 40 Comments
November 12th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
I don’t mind that he wants to adopt her. If Tiger is willing, then why not?
I do mind that she has allegedly only seen her Hutchence gradmother four times in 10 years, and none of the rest of the Hutchence family. I’m not suggesting they would be better able to take care of Tiger etc, or that she be taken away from her sisters… but a visit or two in the holidays, a trip to Australia every so often to visit her grandfather who’s too old & sick to travel… would that be such a bad thing?
Geldof is a supporter/ambassador for a grandparents organisation that helps grandparents get time with their grandkids! How hypocritical is that?
November 12th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
I have a real problem with stories like this.
Obviously I don’t know the entire backstory, but it sounds like Bob should be praised rather than torn down by the family. The way I see it is this — his wife left him for someone else, had a child by this man, they both pass away unnaturally, and Bob takes on the care of this child, accepting her as his own and putting her best interests at heart, when apparently no one else could.
He raises her with her sisters, cares for her, and likely pays for everything. The remaining family (Tina etc) have absolutely no problem with this and are happy to ‘use’ Bob in this way.
Then, God forbid, he actually wants to adopt the child he’s raised for seven years, and these people come out of the woodwork. Why haven’t we heard about the issues with the grandparents, etc, earlier? Or did I miss something? When I hear stories like this, it makes me wonder if information is being left out, made up, or trotted out when it’s convenient.
It really saddens me. The person who will suffer the most is Tiger Lily.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
It’s flat out wrong. Ok he MIGHT have done a good thing in raising her. However there is no evidence that the Hutchence family should not have raised her or done as good a job of raising her. It is a slap in the face to the memory of Michael Hutchence, who reportedly was depressed over the fight Geldof was putting up in granting Paula Yates a divorce so that she and Hutchence could marry, that contributed to the events that led to his (Michael Hutchence’s) demise.
I am glad that Tigerlily is reportedly growing up well. However the child is a HUTCHENCE regardless of who raises her. She should keep the name her parents gave her. It is HER rightful name. I always thought Geldof had some sort of rub salt in the wounds mentality at heart in raising that child anyway.
May God bless and protect that poor child! Geez hasn’t she suffered enough in her life already?
November 12th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Actually if I remember correctly the Hutchence family including half sister Tina, fought for custody of Tiger Lily and lost.
Tina has been very outspoken about how Bob has not gone out of his way to allow the Hutchence family to be part of Tigers family.
Their was a lot of argument over Tigers inheritance from Michael and the motivations in getting custody of her.
Its just one of those really sad stories, and I often wonder how that little girl will turn out.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Whose Tina?
November 12th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Oh wow Ivey, thanks for the information. I’m going to go hit up Google for a bit now and read more about this. Poor Tiger Lily.
Mary, did you read the story…? The answer is in the first sentence…
November 12th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I remember reading n interview with MH’s father, and seeing MH’s mother and sister interviewed. Apparently MH’s father has no problem with Tiger – Lily living with Bob, and has seen her whenever he wanted in London (I do not know about her travelling to Australia). MH’s brother had a similar opinion, and said that Tiger – Lily was better off growing up in the same house with her sisters.
The situation with the mother and sister is different. Before MH died, I believe his relationship was non – existent with either, and Tiger – Lily had never met them. I believe that, after Paula died, they (mother and sister) did indeed make a noise about getting custody (but for whatever reason were unsuccessful). I have no either if they ever did try, to legally, get custody of her, but they did do the rounds of the chat shows, going on and on about it.
I believe MH’s father has also said, in an interview I read, that he and Bob had met prior to Paula’s death, and that Bob agreed then, that if anything did happen to Paula, he would look after Tiger – Lily. Obviously this was during the phase when Paula was a heavy drug user
November 12th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Now, I wouldn’t mind so much if he wanted to adopt her and legally change her name if she had no other family, but she does, and they obviously love her but haven’t seen her due to a lot of things surrounding Bob.
I don’t see the need for her name change, and as for him trying to legally adopt her… I just don’t want to comment. Too many holes in this story for me to say much else.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Actually the fight between Paula and Bob was not over the divorce, but over the custody of their three children. Paula wanted to take them and live, in Australia I believe, and Bob said no, and there was an ongoing argument over it. I can’t really condemn Bob for this, I mean the girls were very young, and both Paula and Michael were drug users (rather heavily). I believe the children’s nanny found drugs hidden in one of the girl’s toys.
Tiger – Lily is what is important, and in living memory she has lived in Bob’s house, and considered that to be where she belongs. If this helps her have a sense of belonging, and to know that she is loved by the people who raised her (in the long run), then why not. After all Hutencence will always be her biological father, and she will always know that, She, and her sister’s, will without doubt have issues dealing with what happened to Paula and Hutencence anyway.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Ok I hate to be an expert on this tangled mess, and it was very complicated, I followed it closely, because I was a fan of MH.
But basically MHs’ dad passed away a couple years ago, but did back Bob in getting custody of Tiger.
Basically MHs’ Dad had a very contentious divorce from MHs’ mom and Tina was not his daughter and they didn’t get on either. MHs’ brother is a self admitted long time heroin addict and their was no way he was getting custody. So MHs’ Dad decided to side with Bob.
Its like a never ending Soap Opera!!
Anyway my take on this new thing is that Bobs’ biggest argument in obtaining custody was that Tiger should be with her half sisters, maybe because Pixie is about to turn 18, he is worried that their could be a new custody battle, however I don’t see it happening because he has had her for seven years.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Mary- Tina is Michael’s sister. Their relationship is mentioned in the first sentence(I missed it too)
Does the child’s name need to be legally changed to adopt her? I think it’s great that he wants to adopt her. After living with Bob & his other daughters(her sisters) she probably wants to be adopted.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
This all seems a bit silly. Tiger lives with Bob and her sisters, has for years, and the father and brother of MH seem to have no problem with the arrangement — other members of Hutchence’s family lost legally in court.
This all just seems a formality, this last bit with the legal adoption and the name change. And who knows if it wasn’t Tiger Lily’s request? She’s old enough now to want to have the same name as the rest of her family, much as I would prefer to have the name of my family rather than that of my Australian cousins.
As for Geldof somehow being responsible for MH’s depression and eventual death (which I’d always heard billed as auto-erotic asphyxiation), I find that wholly absurd. MH was sleeping with Geldof’s wife! Geldof had absolutely no responsibility for the welfare of Michael Hutchence in any divorce proceedings, and I suspect that he was more concerned with the welfare of the three young daughters he shared with Paula.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
I think its great that he’s adopting the child that he’s been raising for seven years. As for the name changing, who cares? Its just a name.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
If you ask me it isn’t the surname he should change but the christian names
Seriously though, he’s been Daddy for all these years so why not make it permanent?
November 12th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
I think everyone is judging the situation from the outside, obviously. The girl is old enough to have an opinion and I doubt he would be changing a girl’s name at that age if she hadn’t agreed to it. The girl’s best interest is what everyone should be going for, not the interest of her late father and his family. She will always be MH’s biological daughter, a name change will not change DNA
November 12th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
I agree Nina. I have a feeling this name change was probably a request by Tiger-Lily. She is an 11 year old adolescent now, and that’s a time where you really struggle with your identity and with growing up. She is old enough to make requests and I doubt she would agree to change her name if she didn’t want to.
Bob is the man who has raised her, he is her father. She probably just wants to have the same last name as her sisters and her dad, and I think she should be allowed to. I think it’s really wonderful that Bob Geldoff was able to look beyond his wife’s infidelity and take in the child of her affair. Why are people even questioning this man’s motives? If the name change were really important to him, he would have done it years ago. I’ll bet he was waiting for Tiger-Lily to bring it up, along with the adoption.
I’m actually shocked that some people think he’s doing this out of spite. Michael is dead. Paula is dead. Who is he feeling spiteful towards? He obviously loves this girl and she should have his name, if she wants it.
November 12th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Thank you Amanda for saying that. Some people around here judge more than actually taking into account that they don’t know any of these people personally.I don’t see the problem. Why say poor Tiger Lily? It seems she has a loving father even if he isn’t her biological father. He deserves a pat on the back for that. So many men would have not cared.
November 12th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I’d just like to give credit to the writer for getting all this information and all those names correct. WOW! No idea who these people are but this had to be a confusing post to write … Kudos.
November 12th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Amanda I totally agree with you!!! Tiger~Lily is old enough to make her own decisions. It’s not as if Geldof decided that he’s going to adopt her out of the blue. I’m sure Tiger~Lily had asked to be adopted. I think it’s fantastic that Bob was able to step up to the plate and take her in and raise her as his own along with her sisters.
November 12th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I think it’s wonderful that Tiger-Lily has been able to grow up with her sisters and that Bob would even step up and be willing to care for her when her parents died. (Many men would not have been able to look at her without being reminded of how his wife left him, etc). As for formally adopting her…shouldn’t Tiger-Lily have a say?! I know that in the USA (some states anyways) a child her age can let the judge know what her wishes are. Can she be adopted by Bob but still keep her last name? I’m not 100% sure of the laws regarding Family over the pond.
November 12th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
The truth is that Bob has been horrible to Tiger’s Australian family from the beginning.
In the 7 years he has had custody of her he has only let her Aussie family see her 4 times, and then only with supervised visits from a nanny of his choice. Tiger hates this as she wants to spend more time with her grandparents and cousins but can’t because of the rules Bob has on her while she is with them. She even stated last time that she was in Australia that she wanted to live in Australia because she doesn’t like being raised by nannys in England and loves that her Australian family take care of her and dont hire nannys to do it instead, but Bob would never let her. Last time she was in Australia she even waited until Bob’s nanny for her had gone to sleep and then snuck into her grandparents room just so she could have some private time with them.
He rarely lets her talk on the phone to them, only around once a year even though they call at least once a week to talk to her, and when he does permit them to speak he or a nanny listens to the converstion and stops the phone call after only a minute or two. It has come to the point that Tiger, wanting to talk to her grandmother, has had to phone secretly, hiding and whispering into the phone so Bob doesn’t know.
And Bob wouldn’t even let her visit her Grandfather before he died!
I think this is INCREDIBLY unhealthy for a child! How terrible must it be to have to hide half of your family because your step-father is afraid you might like them enough to want to see them often, or even stay with them once in awhile!
It’s not like he can’t afford to let her go to Australia whenever she wants. Especially since Michael and Paula left her money specifically for travel to Australia to see her family.
The reasons for him being so ridiculous are unknown for fact. The main “rumor” is that he is afraid that she will want to stay in Australia and he will loose custody (and money) if she goes. His main problem is that, even after years of blocking Tiger from her Australian heritage, she still remembers being told by her mother how her daddy was so proud to have a little Aussie and how much they both wanted her to be raised there.
Oh and Bob got custody of her because everyone agreed that she will be best of with her sisters considering both her parents are dead. It had nothing to do with who could parent her better so he has absolutely no reason to treat her Austalian family like they are abusers or something by having everything supervised.
November 12th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
What do you mean, come of out the woodwork? From what I understand these stories have been coming out since he’s had custody of her. The other familes, Hutchence and Yates, want to see more of the child. I don’t think that’s a horrible request to be made. And I don’t understand him wanting to change her name, hyphenating it yes, but I question his motives of changing an 11 year old’s name after all this time.
November 12th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Jayla please share where you got all of this information. Are you a close friend of Tiger Lily?
I don’t know much about this situation and before believing what is written in these comments I think it is important where this information comes from; straight from the source, from the Australian family or from the tabloids?
Terri I don’t know if it possible to hyphenate names that easily in the UK, I know it is not possible where I live.
Tiger Lily should be the one to decide this, not Bob Geldof or the Hutchence family and I think a judge would recognize this.
November 12th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Jayla-
Where did you get that information from?
November 12th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Peaches and Fifi Geldof DO NOT live in the Geldof home. Peaches moved out a year ago according to herself. Pixie, is about to turn 18 so I think Geldof wants to cement Tiger as his daughter officially, because once they are all grown up and out of the house, the reasoning behind her being there was to be raised with her big sisters. If they’re not there, Tiger doesn’t need to be there, other than the fact that she is the only father she has ever known and there MUST be some sort of love and affection between the two?
I hope Tiger does not change her surname, as her surname is what her real daddy gave her. She’s 11 years old going on 12, why bother changing it now?
Paula would be devastated if her name was changed, after everything she went through to have Michael’s child, she would definitely want her to be a Geldof. And Michael, well lets not even go there, he would hate for her to be in Bob’s care to begin with!
November 12th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Why would Bob Geldof need Michael & Paula’s money? Isn’t Sir Bob one of the richest music moguls in the world? This seems like a really lame (untrue) reason for wanting to keep Tiger-Lily. It’s not like he’s some unemployed, K-Fed clone! Jeez. Maybe he just loves the girl. He has been raising her most of her life.
If Bob does keep his daughter away from the Aussie relatives, there may be a good reason for it. Seems to be a lot of drug abuse with that family.
Until I see quotes from Tiger-Lily herself, I’m going to assume these are nasty rumors and not true. If a man can rise above an awful situation and take in the orphan child of his wife and her lover, I would assume he’s big enough to let her see her Aussie family, unless there were some compelling reason (drug abuse, etc) why she shouldn’t.
November 12th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
There’s no legal requirement that her name be changed for Geldof to adopt her.
If Paula Yates’s mother had raised Tiger Lily and now wanted to change the child’s surname to Yates, would you be for or against it? I think many of the opinions on this thread stem from the idea that a man needs to be bribed or rewarded into taking care of a child by having that child bear his name.
November 13th, 2007 at 5:58 am
There is NO drug use from the Australian relatives! There is NO abuse of any kind from the Australian relatives!
Yes, Michael used to use all kinds of drugs, as did Paula (who’s English), and Michael’s brother used when he was younger but not since he had kids and his kids are mostly older than Tiger. And the rest of the Australian family most certainly do not use any drugs nor have they ever.
And as for Bob having plenty of money, to an extent, yes he does, but there is more to Tigers inheritance than just money in itself.
I can’t say more on that, as it is Tiger’s and the Hutchence’s personal business, and hopefully it will stay that way.
And to Sarita and Colleen, I can tell you that I know this information from some of Tiger’s English relatives and Aussie relatives and mutual family friends. I haven’t seen Tiger personally for about a year as I have been busy travelling for work but what I wrote to be her words were indeed her words. Everything I said comes from personally hearing it or seeing it happen.
November 13th, 2007 at 8:04 am
okay, it’s been 7 years and all of sudden he wants to adopt her? you would think maybe he’d make a fight to adopt her sooner, dont’ ya think? and as for Michaels family, i don’t know anything about them, so maybe they lost the custody fight because Bob is a huge star??? something must of happened to make them lose. also, “its just a name” no, it’s Michael Hutchence only living decendent, and i believe she should keep his name, she still is the child of Paula Yates and Michael Hutchence, and that should be left at that. although, i guess i give the guy credit for raising the child, but really, what were his motives?
November 13th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Sorry, I had a few obvious typos there in the previous post.
This news article is a snippet from the actual magazine article.
Tiger’s aunty quoted Tiger saying that when she visited her grandmother Patricia last year for the first time in SEVEN YEARS, Bob is TELLING HER TO SAY HER NAME IS GELDOF NOW AND TIGER SAID SHE DID NOT LIKE THAT.
Her aunty would have to be pretty horrible to make something like that up. I don’t think Tiger wants this, 100%. I think she’s just going along with it, because she’s a kid and he is her father, and naturally she has to do what he says. Also in this article, Tiger’s aunty asked if she would be able to email Tiger from time to time. Bob said he doesn’t have a computer in his home! I am sorry but he is LYING. The man has lived in a house with 3 teenage girls. Surely there are computers in the home. Homework? The internet? Liar!
Tiger apologised to her grandmother for not coming to Australia sooner. It was not her fault! SEVEN YEARS? Come on Bob. I’m sorry, I am not a Bob lover, and I think this is partly revenge. You do not keep a child from their biological family for 7 years. Barely any phone conversations, and presents hidden from the child for years.
I don’t think Tiger will be pleased with Bob when she’s a grown woman. Infact, I wouldn’t blame her for hating all three of her parents. Michael and Paula left her, to be in the care of such a spiteful man.
November 13th, 2007 at 10:59 am
I really don’t want to be rude about the departed, but Paula and Michael really don’t matter, Tiger does. What is best for her is the most important thing, not what her parents opinions would have been, it is the living that are important.
I don’t know about all this supervised, restriction nonsense, but I do know that both Michael’s father and brother were allowed to see Tiger anytime they wanted in the UK (no idea bout visits to Australia), and Michael’s brother is/was by his own admission a heroin user. I have no idea about the mother and half – sister, but I do know that Michael’s relationship with both, is contentious, and they were trying, before Paula’s death, to get custody of tiger. I also believe that they were living in Canada for a long period of time, they may now be back in Australia.
Well if Tiger’s nanny is with her when she visits people, well then what do people expect? She is responsible for the child and it is the way these things are, I doubt there is any underhandedness going on there.
I friend of mine used to work in Canterbury, where Geldof has a house, and used to see Geoldof and Tiger around a lot at weekends, doing normal things that a kid would like: McDonalds, toy stores, whatever. To him, she seemed a perfectly happy child.
November 13th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Jayla,
you seem a little intense.
I agree it would have been nice if Geldof and the remaining Hutchence family could have come to a more peaceful arrangement. And I also agree Tina should have gotten full custody originally, but as it stands now, Bob has had her for seven years and I can’t see how it would be of the best interest of Tiger for that to change.
As for Rhett(MHs’ brother) you need to get some of your facts straight he had an autobiography written about a year ago stating he is still a daily heroin addict and two of his children are younger than Tiger.(not that this matters, but it just makes it seem like you don’t know what your talking about)
As for her name being changed, yes it bothers me but realistically she can always change it back when she is 18 if she wants too.
November 13th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
I think that’s sweet. Now he should petition to change his other daughters’ first names, because they’re terrible! But that’s just my opinion.
November 13th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I’ve always admired Bob in this situation. He puts his girls first, and not many guys would step up to the plate to raise their daughters’ half-sister.
November 13th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I think Tiger Lily should be the one to decide who she lives with and whether or not she wants to be adopted (and whether or not she wants to change her name.)
November 13th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Tiger has a nanny! Well of course she does, it is part of the world she was born into. When she lived with Hutchence and Yates she also had a nanny, the same as all of her sister’s. Anyone like Geldof, Yates, Hutchence, even ’salt of the earth’ stars like Kate Winslet, have nannies for their children. I don’t see a problem with it, we may see it as cruel and rather Victorian, but these people cannot conduct their careers without having one. Tiger Lily may not like having a nanny, but in all honesty I doubt she knows anything else, as it makes her no different from her sister’s, or the children she mixes at school; all who would have similar familial set ups.
It is also equally obvious, that said nanny is hired by Bob. It is my understanding that in the ‘their household’ there is Bob, his girlfriend (who I think is called Marie, she’s French anyway), the four girls, a housekeeper, and a nanny. I know that Bob’s two eldest children no longer live at home though.
Jayla – your report of the way Bob operates makes it sound as if it is movie – of – the – week type cruelty. I sincerely hope, and doubt, that this is the way things operate.
November 13th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
I have been admirer’s of Bob and MH for years.
I was devastated when Michael passed away. I don’t know what went on with the three of them, other than Bob didn’t want the girls to move to Australia.
I don’t blame Bob for Michael’s death, I think it was an unfortunate accident. I do believe he was probably depressed over a number of things, including not being able to take the girls with her.
Now with Bob adopting Tiger, I don’t know if he has tried before and Tina and MH’s mum stood in the way or what.
I think its cool he wants to adopt her, but I don’t agree with the name change.
My dad died when I was young too, but I don’t think I would ever want to change that name, that was my dads, but thats just me.
Couldn’t be Hutchence-Geldof?
Whatever goes on, I wish them the best and happiness in the world.
November 13th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Ivey and Sharon.
I can only say what I know to be true as I seem to be the only one who actually knows any of the people involved. I have said previously that what I have written is from seeing it and hearing it personally from the people involved. I will not repeat myself any further, but I don’t know how much more of the truth it can be then from coming from the people themselves.
If you choose not to believe it, that’s fine with me.
And that’s all I have to say on this issue.
November 15th, 2007 at 3:21 am
Uh huh, sure thing Jayla. And I’m best mates with the Queen of England.
Why should we believe you? “I know them personally” isn’t actually proof that you know them personally. I mean, I know someone who was on Neighbours personally, but I can’t prove it to you or anyone else on this board.
Nothing that you have said could not have been gleaned from a decade of Australian tabloid magazines. I know, because I’ve read them.
March 15th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I bet it’s not even true that he would want to change her name to Geldof! But I see no reason why he shouldn’t legally adopt her if she kept the name Hutchence! I think it is lovely that he has raised her since her parents deaths, I think it was right that she was raised with her sisters and Bob seems like a great father! Yes some of his daughters especially Peaches, I would say seem to be a bit wild, but that’s hardly his fault, my mam and dad are great parents to me but I sometimes do crazy things, although I’m mainly more sensible now, doesn’t mean they are bad parents or anything and haven’t done their best raising me!
Bob seems lovely and I’m sure Tiger Lily has been happy all these years with Bob and her sisters!