LATE Motown icon Mary Wilson failed to make peace with Diana Ross for a Supremes reunion – she admitted in one of her last interviews.
Wilson, who died on Monday age 76, and Ross failed to overcome their long term issues to reunite for the group’s 60th anniversary.
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Wilson said in one of her last on camera interviews that she was on board for a reunion, but pointed the finger at Ross for not wanting a comeback.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun she said she was “hopeful” to talk around her former school friend Ross to reunite, to allow fans a farewell.
“My love is of the fans but whatever would make them happy would be fine with me,” she said.
“But that is business. And people have to live their lives and everyone has things they are doing, whatever is important to them, that is what everyone does. So I am just one of them.
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“Whatever makes the fans, me and Diana happy that is what is going to happen. But only God knows – so I do not really know.”
She added: “People need to perhaps ask Diana. It is only Diana and I that are the originals, because Florence passed away; because if she wants to do it then maybe it will be done. I am not in control of that.
“So I know everyone wants it so if it happens, I will be happy. If it doesn’t… I have my life to live.”
Wilson had insisted any comeback would have needed to be on an equal footing.
“And if we could come together with everyone at the same level and same time and stars coinciding together and all that kind of stuff, then okay in line with the universe – then we will see.
“I am always hopeful for anything that is good.”
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And while she was disappointed at not reforming the band, it was not a “regret,” saying: “I do not have a lot of regrets. I have done lots of things and made mistakes…the one thing I do regret is that our friend Flo is no longer here with us and that I could not help.
“And maybe that I could have got a lawyer to make things better in certain areas.
“I do not have a lot of regrets because whatever I am doing now is kind of God driven.
“If I can do more and better fine. If I can just live my life I am happy there too.
“Every moment is a moment that you should be happy. You can be unhappy about things, but you should not be an unhappy person.”
Wilson and Ross endured years of turbulence after Ross left the band.
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And in 2000, their relationship seemed irreparable when Ross, 75, reformed The Supremes without Wilson.
That comeback flopped and insiders say that over the last few years the pair had attempted and failed a reconciliation off and on stage.
However Ross paid tribute to her bandmate on Tuesday, posting on Twitter: “I just woke up to this news, my condolences to you Mary’s family, I am reminded that each day is a gift, I have so many wonderful memories of our time together. The Supremes will live on in our hearts.”
Wilson, speaking in November, 2019, also hoped to expand her talents with an acting career, before the pandemic effectively closed the TV and film industry for much of last year.
Wilson co-founded the Supremes at the age of 15 in Detroit – and stayed with the hit-making Motown Records trio until its dissolution in 1977.
Known as the “sweethearts of Motown,” Wilson performed alongside Ross in the 60s.
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The group are still America’s most successful vocal group to date – with 12 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
A statement from Motown label’s founder Berry Gordy said: “I was extremely shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of a major member of the Motown family, Mary Wilson of the Supreme.
“Mary, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, came to Motown in the early 1960s.
“After an unprecedented string of No. 1 hits, television and nightclub bookings, they opened doors for themselves, the other Motown acts, and many, many others.
“I was always proud of Mary.
“She was quite a star in her own right and over the years continued to work hard to boost the legacy of the Supremes.
“Mary Wilson was extremely special to me. She was a trailblazer, a diva and will be deeply missed.”
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The circumstances of her death have not yet been revealed.
Just two days before she passed, Mary uploaded a video to her YouTube channel to say she was planning to release new music.
She said she had been working with Universal Music on releasing solo material, including the unreleased album Red Hot, which she recorded in the 1970s.
Mary told her fans in the video: “Hopefully some of that will be out on my birthday, March 6.”
She also promised to give interviews about The Supremes’ experiences with segregation in honor of Black History Month.
Mary married former Supremes manager Pedro Ferrer in 1974 and they divorced in 1981.
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In 1994, the former couple’s 14-year-old son Rafael was killed and Mary was injured when her Jeep flipped.
She is survived by her daughter Turkessa, her son Pedro Antonio Jr and six grandchildren.
