Is Noel Gallagher’s divorce from his wife Sara MacDonald the reason Oasis is getting back together? Some might say, not least his brother Liam – who has long blamed her for keeping the band from a long-awaited reunion.
The younger Gallagher, 51, has said Sara drove a wedge between himself and his older brother and was to blame for the band being ‘no longer’.
Liam and Sara have long had very public rows – with Liam once labelling Sara a ‘dark’ person, and labelling her a ‘b****’ during furious late-night calls.
But Sara has often hit back – reportedly once dubbing him a ‘deplorable w*****’ and saying she hoped he’d ‘have dropped dead’ by a certain time.
Since Noel and Sara announced their split in December last year, insiders claimed we could see the reunion Oasis fans have long been waiting for.
And as the news of the brothers’ upcoming reunion tour hits after 15 long years, we look back on the feud that could have been the reason the comeback was delayed for so long.
Noel Gallagher, Sara Macdonald, Nicole Appleton and Liam Gallagher pictured at the Q Awards in London in 2005
Liam and Noel Gallagher, pictured here together for the first time in several years, today sensationally confirmed that Oasis have reformed for a mammoth tour
Sara, pictured in March this year, split with Noel in December
In 2018, Liam labelled his brother’s then-wife ‘dark’ on social media
Liam famously didn’t get along with Sara and had a slew of online rows with the PR exec in the past.
But after Noel’s £20million divorce from his ex-wife went through last year, the elder Gallagher is said to have been persuaded of the financial merits of getting the band back together.
Noel and Sara revealed their split in January 2023, after nearly 12 years of marriage.
In a statement released to MailOnline at the time, announcing their separation, they said that their two sons ‘remain their priority’.
The couple, who met in 2000 at an Ibiza club named Space, share Donovan, who was born in 2007 and Sonny, born in 2010.
Noel also has a daughter Anais, born in 2000, who he shares with his first ex-wife Meg Matthews.
He was still wed to his first wife when he and Sara met, and following the split, it was reported the rocker had an affair with Sara during his four-year marriage to Meg.
Liam and Noel Gallagher are pictured at the Knebworth Festival in 1996. They will be performing again next summer
Oasis released a promotional video, which featured old shots of the brothers performing
These are the shows where Oasis will be performing. It’s understood Glastonbury is not on the cards
But they have strongly denied this claim, with the star releasing a statement in 2001 which shared that he didn’t cheat and ‘left Meg because I could no longer tolerate her behaviour’.
Sara said in an interview in 2020 that she liked her brother-in-law when she first met him, but everything crumbled when she and Noel briefly split in 2002.
She told Vogue Liam turned on her, adding: ‘He rang me 11 times in one night. It was ‘f***ing b****’ this, ‘f**king b****’ that.’
She also recounted an incident where a quarrel between the two brothers resulted in Liam tossing her handbag down a hotel corridor.
In August 2009, Noel announced he was leaving the band, writing: ‘It is with some sadness and great relief… I quit Oasis tonight.
‘People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.’
The elder Gallagher and Sara went on to tie the knot in 2011, marrying at the Lime Wood Hotel in the New Forest in a £60,000 ceremony, with guests including Russell Brand watching on – but Liam apparently wasn’t invited.
Noel told the Chicago Sun Times: ‘He goes on about how he wasn’t invited to my wedding. No one was at my wedding but Nic’s [his ex-wife Nicole Appleton] mum and my mum. Get over it, mate. I’ve not been invited to his wedding.’
In 2018, Liam reportedly joked in an interview that he ‘didn’t care’ if Sara, Noel or his brother’s ‘f*****g kid’ – Anais – were targeted by social media trolls.
Then, according to The Sun, Sara took to an Instagram fansite and was said to have posted: ‘His f****** kid? You mean your gorgeous niece, you deplorable w***ker.
‘Please god [you] have dropped dead by the time my kids are on social media.’
It was during that same year that Liam labelled Sara ‘dark’ and said she was ‘the reason Oasis is no longer’.
In 2019, the couple moved to an £8million South Downs mansion near Hampshire’s town of Petersfield with their two children.
It was in a tell-all interview in 2020,
But the good times were not to last, and the couple confirmed last January that they were going their separate ways.
This followed what was reported by some to be a family holiday to Spain instigated by Noel in mid 2022, during which he allegedly hoped could save the marriage.
During an interview on the Matt Morgan podcast at the end of last year, Noel intimated that the split may not have been as amicable as initially thought, noting how much the break-up had cost him.
Addressing the fact that he would soon be living in North West London, Noel said: ‘I can get on the bike and go outside my wonderful ex-wife’s house and give her a little wave — and go, ‘you didn’t take this from me’.’
However, one upside following the split is that it reportedly helped end Liam and Noel’s bitter years-long feud.
The Oasis frenzy is being felt across the world. This shop in Japan was selling Oasis albums with a sign ‘Oasis is back!’
Oasis have teased fans with this post in which they said an announcement was coming on 27 August at 8am
Last December sources who know the siblings said that the split had an ‘instant impact’ on relations between Liam and Noel, who are now ‘closer than they have been for years‘.
Liam is said to have clashed repeatedly with Sara throughout her relationship with his brother – which is said to have contributed to the vicious and often public rift between the brothers.
In response to a message on X, formerly Twitter, Liam hinted that Sara was a factor in Oasis not reuniting.
A fan tweeted the younger Gallagher asking: ‘Hi Liam, do you know why Noel hates Oasis reunion so much??????’
To which Liam replied: ‘I’ve told you before he’s rite up for it but you know who won’t let him as she doesn’t like Oasis music [sic].’
In the wake of the divorce, a source said: ‘Liam did not have the best relationship with Sara. There were many reasons for the bitter feud that erupted between Noel and Liam after Oasis split up.
‘It was never going to be easy for any woman caught up in the middle of this spat to have to deal with Liam. But Sara and Liam both blamed one another, often for things that were sparked by factors outside.
‘It [the divorce] made Liam and Noel confront some of the issues that they were constantly clashing over, rather than blaming somebody else. The pair of them are now closer than they have been for years.
‘I wouldn’t rule out some kind of announcement that Liam and Noel are ready to perform together again after that. There is already loose talk about a possible Oasis stadium tour in 2025.’
And now, that’s come true.
The brothers today sensationally confirmed that Oasis – one of the biggest bands in British music history – have reformed for a mammoth tour around the UK and Ireland.
After weeks of growing speculation about a comeback, the Manchester brothers have finally put their 15-year feud on ice to announce they will be performing together again, 34 years after their first gig.
Excitement reached fever pitch on Sunday after the pair shared the same video, written in the Oasis style, teasing an announcement for Tuesday 8am. The same poster appeared on big screens as Liam finished his headline slot at Reading Festival on Sunday.
And this morning, the iconic Britpop band ended all speculation by confirming a string of gigs – which will not be televised – in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin for next summer.
The 14-show tour will run from July 4 to August 17, kicking off at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium before the brothers pack out Heaton Park in Manchester, Wembley in London, Murrayfield in Edinburgh and Croke Park in Dublin.
Despite speculation that Oasis will be on the bill at Glastonbury 2025, it’s understood the band will not be performing at Worthy Farm. However, plans are underway for Oasis to go to other continents outside of Europe later next year.
Announcing the Oasis Live 25 tour alongside the brothers’ first picture together in years, the legendary band said: ‘The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.’
