Don McLean, the singer-songwriter best known for “American Pie” is now dating a 24-year-old aspiring model who once appeared on MTV‘s Catfish.
According to the New York Post, the 72-year old singer has been appearing in Instagram photos with Paris Dylan since at least November 2016. That month, she posted a photo of the two together, writing, “I’m thankful for him. Happy Thanksgiving from Don & I.”
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In October 2017, she posted a photo on McLean’s birthday, adding in the caption, “Happy birthday to the love of my entire life.” The couple also appear to have spent Christmas together.
Dylan also joined McClean for a trip to England this week. On Friday, she posted a photo from inside a recording booth.
“Don doing some of his BBC interviews in this black cube! I was playing produce of course,” Dylan wrote.
Dylan also appeared with a big diamond ring on her ring finger last summer, sparking speculation of an engagement. However, the ring recently disappeared in other photos with McLean.
As the Post points out, this is not Dylan’s first controversial relationship. When she was 17, she thought she was communicating with NBA basketball player Chris “Birdman” Andersen. But in reality, the communication was being controlled by a Canadian woman, Shelly Chartier, who was trying to blackmail Andersen. Chartier spent 18 months in prison.
The incident was featured in an episode of MTV’s Catfish and ABC News’ 20/20. According to ABC News, Paris Dylan is her stage name and her legal name is Paris Dunn.
McClean has been married twice. He was married to Carol McLean from 1969 to 1972 and Patrisha Shnier from 1987 to 2016. In January 2016, he was charged with domestic assault for an incident with Shnier. He pleaded guilty, although his lawyer said McLean never physically assaulted Schnier.
The domestic assault charge was dropped in July 2017 after he met certain conditions. He avoided running into trouble for a year and paid a $3,000 fine related to three other charges that will stay on his record, reports the Associated Press.
McKee said McLean “prevailed” in the domestic violence charge was “the most serious and damaging of all the charges.”
“Mr. McLean will continue to clear his name of any and all accusations against his character and reputation,” McKee said.
At the time of the incident, McLean and Shnier were still in the process of getting their divorce. It was finalized in March 2017.
