Manchester United legend George Best's first serious girlfriend has revealed her extraordinary transformation from football WAG to Buddhist nun with a shaved head.
From Football Glamour to Spiritual Awakening
Jackie Glass, now known as Ani Rinchen, was the Northern Irish football icon's first notable romance during his heyday at Old Trafford. The model initially rejected Best's advances because he played for Manchester United while she lived in London, but eventually succumbed to his charm.
"Of course, I gave it in the end. He was a charismatic man," Glass revealed to BelfastLive in 2015, reflecting on their relationship that began in the swinging sixties.
The couple's whirlwind romance lasted for about a year properly, with another year of on-off involvement. Glass considers herself Best's first love, though she ultimately ended their relationship after discovering his infidelity through newspaper reports.
A Drastically Different Path
While Best continued his hedonistic lifestyle that would ultimately contribute to his death from alcohol addiction aged 59 exactly twenty years ago, Glass embarked on a completely different journey.
Her life transformed after being deeply moved by a speech from the Dalai Lama. This spiritual awakening led her to embrace Buddhism wholeheartedly, eventually relocating to a Buddhist monastery where she was ordained as a nun in 1994.
Glass adopted the name Ani Rinchen and committed to a life of celibacy, solitude and daily meditation. She exchanged fashionable clothing for simple red robes, stopped wearing makeup entirely, and made the dramatic decision to shave off her long blonde hair.
"I cut my long blonde hair off. I could feel the air on my head. It was liberating," she explained. "I was giving up all the things that weren't good for me."
Reflections on Best and Buddhism
Ani Rinchen believes Best lost connection with his true self during his lifetime. "We can become so focused outwards, we never look inside. Buddhism brings you back to yourself," she reflected.
She learned of Best's death while on a retreat to Holy Island, responding with sadness and organising a small ceremony with prayers for her former lover.
The former model acknowledged she could have easily followed Best down his destructive path. "I was a young, pretty girl. I knew a lot of people but I didn't feel I had a lot of friends. I'm so much happier now," she confessed.
In a poignant final thought, she revealed: "Someone told me George had been reading a book by the Dalai Lama near the end. Perhaps he was coming round to it. Maybe next life..."
Her story represents one of the most dramatic transformations from football's glamorous world to spiritual enlightenment, marking a complete departure from the celebrity lifestyle she once knew.
