How many times was Sinead O’Connor married? How many children did she have?

Irish singer Sinead O’Connor will forever be remembered for her 1990 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U”, which was named as the Number 1 World Single of that year at the first ever Billboard Music Awards. The Dublin-born musician never topped the singles charts again and I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, her second album from which the song was taken, was also the only one to reach number one (with the exception of I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss, which did so in Ireland in 2014).

18 months after her son’s tragic Shane’s tragic suicide at the age of 17, O’Connor was found unresponsive at her London home on Wednesday, with her death not being treated as suspicious by the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom. It comes just two weeks after she had told fans she was “very happy” to have moved back “home” to the capital of England after 23 years away. She was just 56.

The singer undoubtedly led a troubled life, as she had openly discussed her difficult upbringing and subsequent mental health struggles over the years. And while she was considered as controversial by some due to her outspoken views on religion, sex, feminism, and war, there can be no question she left a huge mark on the image and role of women in the music industry as a result of her defiance of “traditional” notions of femininity and sexuality.

“Everyone wants a pop star, see?” she wrote in her 2021 memoir “Rememberings”. “But I am a protest singer. I just had stuff to get off my chest. I had no desire for fame.”

O’Connor’s first child with first husband

O’Connor married on four occasions, with none of those partnerships lasting more than three years. In March 1989, she wed record producer John Reynolds, who produced her debut album and with whom she had previously had her first child, Jake in 1987. The couple divorced in November 1991 but continued working together on a number of albums.

Short-lived marriages and three more children

The Irish star would then have three more children with three different partners, although none came from her three other marriages.

In 1996, her first daughter, Roisin, was born, who she had with Irish journalist John Waters. She then married British journalist Nick Sommerlad in 2001 but they separated after only 11 months together. Her last two children, Shane and Yeshua were born in 2004 and 2006 to Irish musician Donal Lunny and Frank Bonadia respectively.

O’Connor then had two more short-lived marriages to Steve Cooney, who had been a long-time friend and played in her backing band, and therapist Barry Herridge.

O’Connor’s name change after converting to Islam

In 2015, she became a grandmother for the first and only time after her eldest child, Jake Reynolds, had a son of his own. O’Connor legally changed her name to Magda Davitt in 2017 and then Shuhada’ Sadaqat in 2018 after converting to Islam.