Noel Gallagher’s ex-wife Meg Mathews reveals breast cancer battle and mastectomy
Britpop figure Meg Mathews has revealed she has been secretly battling breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy.
The 60-year-old former wife of Oasis star Noel Gallagher said she would have “never known” she had cancer as she “looked great and felt great” when she received her diagnosis in October 2024.
During an interview with The Sun’s Fabulous magazine, Mathews recalled finding out she had “three pea-sized lumps” beneath her left breast following a routine mammogram.
“I was diagnosed with HER2-negative breast cancer, which isn’t aggressive,” she said.
“I didn’t feel scared when I got the diagnosis. I just thought: I can’t break down and think ‘poor me’. I’m strong, I’m going to get through it.
“I knew I had to stay positive because it could have gone the other way and I could have relapsed.”
Mathews, who has previously spoken openly about her struggles with alcohol, has been sober since 2017.
Reflecting on the reaction of her 26-year-old daughter Anais, whom she shares with Gallagher, Mathews said: “She said, ‘Mum, I know you can do this. If anyone can, it’s you’.
“Anais is very black and white – she’s got more of her dad in her. She never seemed worried to me, but I’m sure she was.”
Mathews said she felt obliged to remain a “pillar of strength” for her daughter, adding: “It was not the time to even start breaking down.”
“I was worried about her. I rang people like her manager Kirsty Reilly to make sure they were there for her,” she added.
“I knew it was going to be alright as long as I kept putting positivity out there. I’m not saying that works for everyone, but it did for me.”
Mathews was offered chemotherapy but instead decided to undergo a double mastectomy and to have her lymph nodes removed, which she said was “my choice”.
She said: “(The cancer) was in three or four (lymph nodes) but I just thought, ‘well, I don’t want it to spread’.
“So I said: Take all of them out.”
Mathews underwent the operation in March 2025.
“It only took two-and-a-half hours, which is amazing. People usually have a reconstruction at the same time but I didn’t,” she said.
“I was very lucky, as 11 days later, the pathologist report said I was cancer-free.”
Mathews also said that she had “so many boob jobs” over the years that her breasts “didn’t feel like mine anymore, anyway”.
“I just wasn’t that connected to them any more, so it was an easy decision for me,” she added.
Mathews said she does not use prosthetic breasts, adding: “This year, I thought ‘f*** it,’ and no one has noticed.
“There were a million pictures of me at Oasis’ first night wearing a vest top.
“In the last year, I’ve had three people say, ‘oh, have you had your implants out?’
“Maybe it was because I was flat-chested before. But no-one has ever said, ‘have you had a mastectomy?’ I’ve not tried to hide it.”
Mathews married Gallagher in 1997, and was one of the most recognisable faces during the Britpop era.
They divorced four years later in 2001.
Published: by Radio NewsHub