Mick Jagger seemed ecstatic as he approached his 82nd birthday celebration. The party last Friday saw a joyful Jagger surrounded by a majority of his children and former partners.

Jerry Hall, his partner for 22 years, was there along with three of their four children, Lizzie, 41, Georgia, 33 and Gabriel, 27.

Among the attendees at the Rex Rooms in London’s Notting Hill was Luciana Morad, the Brazilian model whose brief relationship with the Rolling Stones’ lead singer in 1998 led to the birth of their son, Lucas, now 26. This affair also marked the end of Jagger’s relationship with Jerry Hall—though time seems to have mended those past wounds.

And who organised this diplomatic feat? Mick’s former ballerina girlfriend Melanie Hamrick, 38, who was there in high spirits and even higher heels.

She and Mick have been together for 11 years and engaged for three.

Despite his evident reluctance to marry, friends have noted the couple is extremely content. Discussions have even arisen regarding the prospect of welcoming another child together, should destiny allow it.

Their son Deveraux, known as Devi, is eight and Mick is a late convert to the joys of settled, monogamous domesticity.

An insider commented, ‘At Mick’s age, the inclination to stray is fading swiftly. Icons like Rod Stewart, Mick, and Ronnie Wood are now choosing stability.’

‘Melanie’s distinct quality is her adaptability—she caters to Mick’s every want. Among his partners, she’s regarded as particularly astute. As the song suggests, she truly fulfills his needs.’

Still, Melanie, who spent 15 years with the American Ballet Theatre before her retirement in 2019, is anything but compliant. Early in her relationship with Mick, she skillfully thwarted competition from a younger contender, socialite Noor Alfallah, 31. Noor was also connected with Jagger briefly and later had a child with The Godfather’s Al Pacino, now 85.

Melanie then set about building bridges with all of his exes in ways that suggest some impressive diplomatic skills.

A friend of Melanie’s says: ‘I think the ballet world, which is kind of weird and friendless, was probably the perfect preparation for life as a Rolling Stone’s consort. It’s a very male world, very sexist, you need to be tough. Yes, she gets on great with Jerry and with all of the exes. She has taken trouble to get to know all the kids as well and they all like her too, so that helps.’

Unknown to most, the Jagger family spend most of their life in France, dividing their time between Mick’s home in Paris and his vast, 17th century chateau, La Fourchette, in the Loire valley. ‘She and the kid are with him all the time, and he likes the company,’ Melanie’s friend says. ‘They have a real family life.’

But their Parisian home does have a bitter-sweet history.

The Left Bank apartment was where Mick lived with his former lover L’Wren Scott, the fashion designer who died by suicide in 2014. L’Wren had business troubles and there was talk of trouble in their relationship, too, although sources denied they had broken up before her death.

Mick has never forgotten L’Wren and this April, he wished her a ‘Happy Birthday’ on his Instagram. L’Wren, who was highly driven and creative, created the Paris house in her image, and picked out much of the furniture.

And now Melanie is sitting at her dining room table, with her blonde ‘mini-Mick’ Devi at her side.

Melanie has written two ‘bonkbuster’ novels set in the ballet world, but because they spend so much time in France, a source tells me: ‘Melanie is currently learning French because Mick speaks French well, and the kid now speaks French too.’

‘At this point there isn’t a focus on having her own career which is unlike his other serious romances, such as with L’Wren, and they are very compatible and share a lot of interests. Fitness is the number one among them. And she hardly eats, like him.’

The source adds: ‘She is not a demander, she just likes being Mick’s girlfriend. She does not put him under pressure about getting married, that seems not to be a priority for her.’

The pair met in February 2014 when he was in Tokyo with the Stones and she was touring with the American Ballet Theatre. At the time she was engaged to a classical dancer.

They were first spotted together on the balcony of the Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich, 11 weeks after L’Wren’s death.

A year later it seemed Noor had come onto the scene. One report suggests that in May 2016, when Mick was in LA recording, he and Noor spent nights at the five-star Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills. But seven months after this reported sighting, Melanie gave birth to Deveraux, his eighth child, in December 2016, and Noor faded into the background.

Melanie told You magazine in 2018: ‘He’s the most incredible, wonderful, loving father, and, to me, he’s the most wonderful man in the world.’

As for his notorious wandering eye, she said: ‘I feel very secure in my relationship. There will always be rumours, but I know what Mick and I have so I don’t pay any attention.’

Melanie’s ‘don’t-ask-don’t-tell’ policy seems to have served her well. Jerry Hall, now 69, was tortured by jealousy during their years together, particularly over Mick’s affair in the early 1990s with supermodel Carla Bruni, who went on to marry former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mick has actually been married only once – to Nicaraguan social activist Bianca in 1971. They had a daughter Jade, now 53, and divorced in 1978, with Mick’s affair with Jerry cited as the reason.

His 1990 Hindu marriage in Bali to Jerry was later declared null and void after they split in 1999.

L’Wren Scott got a giant ring for her ring finger, but they were never officially engaged.

But things are different with Melanie. This engagement was celebrated with family and friends and Jerry was one of the first people she told. In April this year, Melanie confirmed she had been engaged for ‘two or three years’.

Her work as an author is very much part-time, and she delights in her principal role as Mick’s consort and the mother to his child. She and Devi came along for much of his tour last year and they are in London this summer while he works on a new Stones album.

Melanie also accompanied him to Windsor Castle for the state visit of Emmanuel Macron.

Another line Melanie has learned not to cross is the matter of Mick’s advancing years. If there was a cake at his birthday celebration this week, you can safely bet there weren’t 82 candles ablaze on it.

‘One thing which she never does is talk about his age or about the age gap. That does not exist as a topic,’ a source said.

And so it seems Mel has cracked the code to a happy ever after with Mick Jagger.