from the Irish Independent:
He still hasn't found who he's looking for
Wednesday March 7th 2007
Is there the whiff of the eternal bachelor about Adam Clayton or is the man with the golden bass just plain unlucky in love? ANN DERMODY reports
It's probably just as well that Nicole Kidman isn't particularly pally with U2 bassist Adam Clayton. The actress who famously had a $10,000 bet with eternal bachelor George Clooney that he would be married and knee-deep in children by his 40th birthday would be out of pocket again this week if she had placed a similar wager on the Dublin rock star.
Kidman lost dramatically when Clooney reached the big Four-0 sans wedding ring five years ago. He allegedly sent the money back offering a double-or-quits option by his 50th.
With news emerging that Adam Clayton has split from his long-time partner and fiancé Susie Smith, will the U2 bassist be seeking to lift Clooney's 'most eligible' bachelor crown?
At 47, the man known as one of the quieter members of the band has once again become Ireland's most sought-after man. On paper Mr Clayton has it all: the five-star lifestyle, the glorious career and the undying devotion of millions of fans around the world.
But when he goes home to his Georgian pile in Rathfarnham after an arduous world tour, unlike the other members of U2 it's not to a bevvy of kids and a loving spouse.
Although little is known about his private life, there has always been something alluringly unconventional about Adam Clayton; something that just doesn't gel with the institution of marriage.
These days, his neat haircut and intellectual-looking spectacles are a world apart from the wild rock star image of yesteryear, when he had blonde hair and swanned around in an Afghan coat. Yet Clayton still manages to give off the vibe that he is marching to a different drum.
There's no indication that he's a Hugh Grant-style player or a George Clooney commitment-phobe, despite having been engaged twice - first to supermodel Naomi Campbell in 1994, and most recently to Canadian music executive Susie Smith.
Despite all the temptations that must lie on your average megastar's doorstep, there have never been any stories of night-crawling in Los Angeles or dramatic kiss-and-tell sagas played out by groupies in the tabloids.
Whether or not the last-minute reticence to waltz up the aisle came from Clayton or his fiancé, at least they won't be breaking up in public like Macca and Heather.
He and Susie Smith had been together for about a decade before they announced their engagement last year and their plans to marry in 2007. Unexpectedly, instead of the chime of wedding bells has come the echo of a relationship breaking apart.
However, like that other confessed bachelor Hugh Grant, who also recently split from his long-term girlfriend Jemima Khan, Clayton remains friends with his exes. But unlike the Kylie Minogues and the Sienna Millers who seem to choose men who are so obviously wrong for them, Clayton has had apparently meaningful long-term relationships with worthy women.
The only problem is they have unravelled.
The irony is that there appears to be different rules for men and women when it comes to finding lasting love - even when they happen to be beautiful, famous and fabulously successful. High-profile men such as Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx who have yet to find their 'Ms Right' are not seen as pitiful recluses in need of a mate to complete their lives like their female equivalents.
Even if Adam Clayton or other high-profile bachelors like Matthew McConaughey are secretly nursing broken hearts and suffering lonely nights, it's hard to imagine them sitting at home crying into their cocoa, bawling about not having met the love of their lives.
Clayton can look forward to a chorus of back-slapping applause as he comes back on the market. Meanwhile, his former flame Naomi Campbell, a dozen years his junior at just 35 and still stunningly desirable, is being written off as a spinster with all the negative connotations that conjures up.
Privately, things may not be as easy in the love stakes for the Zen-like bassist. After all, the other members of U2 have all been with their partners and wives for years. Finding 'the one', if there is such a thing, may become a harder and harder prospect as time goes on for someone like Adam Clayton.
Unlike your average bloke, he's not likely to meet her by popping down to his local. Nor can he meet her in work, as he did with Smith, without the sense of discomfort on her side that comes with dating the boss.
He is, after all, one of five directors of a huge organisation that, despite all its advantages, comes with the massive drawback that he may never know whether someone actually likes him for himself or for the reflected glory of his public persona and bank account.
Adam Clayton hasn't actually publicly said anything. Whether a wife and kids are part of his life plan is anyone's guess, though fans who have an extraordinarily personal relationship with U2 would probably like to see him settled and happy.
While he decides, the gold-diggers and fame-seekers will be busy sharpening their manicured nails.
©
http://www.unison.ie/
There is still hope though!!! 
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Too bad she won't be out on a public street doing her community service. I might be tempted to book a flight to NYC to see that! She really rubs me the wrong way with her "I am above everyone else" attitude.
