Paul McCartney is to marry Nancy Shevell

Sir Paul McCartney is engaged to be married to Nancy Shevell, a spokesman has confirmed.

The musician, 68, recently proposed to Shevell, 51. The couple have been together since November 2007.

Shevell is a member of the board of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and vice president of a family-owned transportation conglomerate which owns New England Motor Freight.

This will be McCartney’s third marriage. His first, to Linda McCartney in 1969, ended when she died from breast cancer in 1998. His second marriage was to Heather Mills in 2002, but the couple separated in 2006 and divorced two years later.

Nancy Shevell was formerly married to lawyer Bruce Blakeman. They have a grown-up son, Arlen, currently a university student. She is reportedly on good terms with McCartney’s children – Heather, 48, Mary, 41, Stella, 39, James, 33, and Beatrice, seven.

McCartney is said to have proposed to Shevell in New York last weekend. A date for the wedding has not yet been revealed.

The news was confirmed by a McCartney spokesman, who said “It’s true”. McCartney’s brother Michael, 67, was unware of the engagement until contacted by reporters, saying: “It’s a surprise to me – but it’s wonderful.”