The former wife of Lostprophets bassist Stuart Richardson has broken her decade-long silence, revealing the shocking aftermath of bandmate Ian Watkins' depraved paedophile crimes that shattered the Welsh rock band forever.
Joanna Majic, who was married to Richardson during the band's peak success, described how Watkins' monstrous actions destroyed not just the musical collective but the personal lives of everyone involved.
The Day Everything Shattered
"When the news broke about Ian, it felt like the ground had disappeared beneath us," Majic revealed in an exclusive interview. "Stuart called me, his voice completely broken, and just said 'It's over. It's all over.'"
The band members, who had been close friends since their teenage years in Pontypridd, were completely blindsided by the scale of Watkins' depravity. "They'd known Ian since they were kids. Nobody saw this coming - nobody could have imagined something this horrific," she explained.
Immediate Fallout and Industry Backlash
Majic described the immediate aftermath as "absolute chaos," with record labels dropping the band, radio stations pulling their music, and venues cancelling shows within hours of the news breaking.
"One day they were playing arenas, the next they were pariahs. The phone didn't stop ringing with cancellations and angry calls," she recalled. "The band name became toxic overnight."
Personal Lives Torn Apart
The scandal didn't just end careers - it destroyed personal relationships too. Majic's marriage to Richardson eventually collapsed under the strain, something she directly attributes to the trauma of the Watkins case.
"How do you come back from something like that? The band was Stuart's life, his identity. When it ended so horrifically, it changed him fundamentally," she shared emotionally.
No Contact With Watkins
Majic confirmed that neither she nor Richardson have had any contact with Watkins since his imprisonment. "There's nothing to say. The man we thought we knew never existed," she stated firmly.
Watkins is currently serving a 29-year prison sentence with an additional 6 years on licence after pleading guilty to multiple child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby.
Moving Forward After Trauma
Now, years after the scandal, Majic hopes that by speaking out she can help others understand the collateral damage caused by such high-profile crimes.
"The victims and their families are obviously the priority, but people forget there are other lives destroyed in the wake of something this monstrous," she concluded. "The band members lost everything they'd worked for since they were teenagers."
