When Jimmy Calderwood, the well-known former football manager, passed away in January, his family’s longstanding turmoil came to a head at his funeral.
The bitter rift that divided them began years earlier, when his daughter, Nikki, uncovered a shocking secret: Jimmy had been having an affair.
This revelation in 2015, when Nikki discovered intimate messages on his phone, set off a chain of events that ultimately led to the collapse of Calderwood’s 41-year marriage to his wife, Sue.
The affair, with a woman named Yvonne Buchanan, was just the tip of the iceberg.
As Calderwood’s life with Sue unraveled, the bitterness spread within the family, and it all culminated in dramatic moments at his funeral.
The Affair That Shattered a Family
The affair was exposed when Nikki found sexually charged messages between her father and Yvonne. At the time, Jimmy had been telling Sue that he was going out for football-related meetings or to visit friends in Glasgow. However, his phone revealed that he was actually meeting his lover in hotels.
The family had long suspected something was wrong, as Jimmy had been acting distant and secretive.
The discovery of the affair was a hard blow for Nikki, who confronted her father, only to face his angry denials.
Despite the confrontation, Calderwood didn’t immediately end his relationship with his wife.
He continued seeing Yvonne while attempting to patch things up with Sue.
However, this only deepened the rift. Jimmy left the family home and moved in with Yvonne, leaving Sue to pick up the pieces with their four children.
A Public Dispute at the Funeral
The tension boiled over at Calderwood’s funeral. His son, Scott, couldn’t stand by and watch what he saw as disrespect to his family.
He walked out of the service in protest, citing that the ceremony had been focused on Yvonne and her family rather than his own.
Scott was particularly upset that his father’s life and legacy were being “whitewashed” in front of him.
“I couldn’t just stand there and act like I barely knew the man,” he said. “It was complete disregard for his wishes.”
The situation was so tense that security had to be present to keep the families from clashing.
For Scott and his relatives, this disrespect was too much to bear. He, along with some family members, left the service to grieve privately.
A History of Cheating and Ego
This wasn’t the first time Calderwood had betrayed his family.
Reports suggest he had at least five affairs during his marriage to Sue, many of which occurred while he was living and working in the Netherlands.
His love of the limelight and attention from women seemed to define his life, even as he became more distant from his family.
Friends and family claimed that Jimmy couldn’t let go of his footballer lifestyle, a world of admiration and attention that came with his status as both a player and manager.
His divorce from Sue in 2018 followed years of turmoil, and his children were left reeling.
Despite his attempts to salvage his relationship with his family, Calderwood was increasingly isolated.
His health began to decline as he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and his relationship with his family continued to deteriorate.
Grief Amidst Tension
In the end, Calderwood’s funeral became a symbol of the fractured relationships within his family.
Yvonne Buchanan, who had been by his side in his final years, paid her respects, but her presence was a stark reminder of the damage caused by the affair.
Scott, Nikki, and the rest of the family, who had suffered through the years of betrayal, struggled to reconcile their grief with the lasting pain left by their father’s choices.
Calderwood, who had once been a well-respected figure in Scottish football, left behind a legacy marred by his infidelity and the family’s ongoing struggles.
Even though he had been a beloved figure at clubs like Aberdeen and Dunfermline, it seems his personal life overshadowed much of his professional success in the end.