Paul McCartney’s Children Reportedly Embraced Nancy Shevell Early — With Stella’s Public Hug Signaling a Very Different Family Chapter After Heather Mills

Paul McCartney’s relationship with Nancy Shevell may have reached an important turning point without the former Beatle saying anything at all.

Instead, it was his daughter Stella who appeared to send the message.

At the Natural Resources Defense Council gala in New York, Stella was seen warmly embracing Shevell, linking arms with her and laughing as the family gathered for an evening honoring the designer.

For McCartney, whose previous marriage to Heather Mills had reportedly caused tension within his family, the moment suggested something significant.

His children appeared comfortable with the new woman in their father’s life.

And according to one fashion insider at the time, Stella was “thrilled for her father.”

Stella’s hug spoke volumes

The New York event was particularly meaningful because Stella was being honored for her organic skincare line.

Shevell attended alongside McCartney, but her interaction with his daughter attracted attention of its own.

Rather than maintaining a polite distance from her father’s girlfriend, Stella appeared relaxed and affectionate.

The two women linked arms, laughed together and shared a hug.

It offered a glimpse of a relationship that had apparently developed naturally behind the scenes.

That mattered because McCartney’s romantic life had previously been accompanied by reports that his children struggled with his relationship with Mills.

With Shevell, the atmosphere appeared markedly different.

Nancy had quietly become part of Paul’s world

McCartney met Shevell during the summer of 2007 while spending time in the Hamptons.

Their romance subsequently developed away from much of the public spectacle surrounding his previous relationship.

Over the following year, the pair were spotted traveling together and gradually sharing more of their lives.

They vacationed in Antigua, attended Grammy celebrations in Los Angeles and spent time together in London.

Despite their 17-year age difference — McCartney was 66 and Shevell 49 at the time — a source described them as “clearly well-suited, well-matched.”

There were also qualities in Shevell that reportedly reminded people of McCartney’s late first wife, Linda.

Echoes of Linda McCartney

Shevell was a New York businesswoman with an outdoorsy side and East Coast roots.

She was also a breast cancer survivor, having battled the disease during the mid-1990s.

Those similarities inevitably invited comparisons with Linda, with whom McCartney had shared nearly three decades of marriage before her death.

But perhaps the most important development wasn’t how closely Shevell resembled anyone from McCartney’s past.

It was how comfortably she appeared to fit into his existing family.

She was spending time with Paul’s children

Stella wasn’t McCartney’s only child getting to know Shevell.

She was also backstage with James and Mary when McCartney performed at an April 4 concert benefiting the David Lynch Foundation.

Months earlier, Shevell had attended Stella’s fashion show in France.

Each appearance suggested that she wasn’t simply accompanying McCartney to glamorous events.

She was gradually becoming part of his wider family circle.

Even McCartney’s youngest daughter, Beatrice, appeared comfortable with her.

And surprisingly, that assessment came directly from Mills.

Even Heather Mills said Beatrice liked her

Mills acknowledged that her daughter with McCartney had met Shevell and apparently responded positively.

Beatrice “likes [Shevell],” Mills said.

She also appeared accepting of her former husband’s decision to begin another relationship.

“Who doesn’t move on in life?” she asked.

It was a simple comment, but it reflected how dramatically McCartney’s personal life had changed.

After a difficult and intensely scrutinized divorce, he had found another relationship that was progressing far more quietly.

There were holidays and concerts rather than public drama.

More importantly, Shevell appeared to be building relationships with the people who mattered most to McCartney.

And perhaps no elaborate family statement was needed.

For Stella, linking arms with her father’s new partner, laughing beside her and pulling her into a hug in front of everyone may have said enough.