15. Ignoring Good Advice
In Louisiana back then, marrying a thirteen-year-old girl, or marrying one’s cousin, were not exactly commonplace, but neither were they too unusual. Where Jerry Lee Lewis grew up, it simply was not that big of a deal, so he did not think his new wife’s age, or her blood relation to him, would prove scandalous. To the extent that he was worried about potential scandal, it had more to with the timing of the wedding. Just as he had done with his second marriage, Lewis had married his third wife before his divorce from his second wife had been finalized.
In short, Lewis did not realize that marrying his thirteen-year-old cousin might offend a lot of people, and destroy his public image. People from his record label warned him against taking his child bride with him on his first European tour. Lewis ignored them, and took Myra with him to England. It was a huge mistake.