CAPTAIN Tom Moore has revealed details about his sexless first marriage, which he described as the "darkest period" of his life.
The 100-year-old, who has raised more than £30 million for NHS charities over lockdown, wrote that he later found happiness with his second wife in his new tell-all autobiography.
Tom has spoken about how his marriage to first wife Billie was the "darkest period of my life," and that the mental health problems she faced would be better understood today – but this was not the case in the 1950s.
The pair got married in 1949 – despite hardly knowing each other and Tom just getting back from fighting in the Second World War.
The Captain said in his autobiography, Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day: "We were happy enough to begin with but, looking back, I realise that the first few months of our marriage were as good as it ever got.
"Things in the bedroom weren't right between us from the start.
"The marriage was unconsummated.
"Billie was very shy and restrained and I assumed that she'd relax in time but, to my disappointment, she never did.
"When I tried to talk to her, I discovered that sex wasn't something her family discussed."
He also admitted that the marriage was too "impulsive" and soon felt like he had sunk into a deep hole and couldn't get out.
SEXLESS MARRIAGE
Despite how hard and fustrating things became, Tom never cheated on his wife.
He said that he had signed a contract – and that he "didn't believe" in being unfaithful.
Tom also spoke about when his family company went into liquidation, forcing him to get a job as a manual labourer.
Meanwhile, Billie's mental heath was deteriorating, and she developed what would now be called obsessive compulsive tendencies.
She also then decided to get a job as an assistant to a doctor who treated patients with sexual disorders, and he protested, saying: "But Billie, love, you are completely the wrong person for that."
He then landed a job as a travelling salesman for a company called Nuralite, selling building supplies – where he met Pamela Paull.
After months of appointments with a psychiatrist at their flat, while Tom was away, Billie one day shockingly told the Captain that she was moving in with her psychiatrist.
HAPPIER TIMES
Tom said: "I was shattered by the shock and audacity of it. I had been such a loyal husband and so very patient.
"It felt like the worst kind of betrayal. I decided there and then that enough was enough.
"Our so-called marriage was over."
Once annulment proceedings were underway, Tom reconnected with office manager Pamela, who was 15 years younger than him and single.
The two would go on dates, talk, and he even took her on her first foreign holiday to the south of France.
He soon proposed, stating that he was "happier than he had been in years."
Pamela then fell pregnant, fulfilling something he never thought he'd be able to experience with Billie – fatherhood.
The couple then welcomed daughter Lucy into the world, followed by Hannah.
Pamela never lived to see her husband gain national fame for his fundraising efforts, passing away in 2006.
He captured the hearts of the nation earlier this year, when he embarked on a mission to complete 100 laps of his 25m garden to mark his 100th birthday, and raise money for NHS charities together.
As well as raising more than £30m, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, and was knighted by the Queen at a special Windsor Castle ceremony in July.
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