AceShowbiz - Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills has blamed the former couple's bitter divorce battle for destroying her role as a charity campaigner - insisting many organizations refused to associate with her because of "bad press." The former glamour model divorced The Beatles icon in 2008, with McCartney handing over $38.9 million to his former partner as part of her settlement.

The ugly split dominated headlines for months while the case dragged on in court, and Mills is convinced all the negative attention affected her ability to work with good causes. She tells Britain's OK! magazine, "It destroyed a lot of my charity work - which was hugely upsetting."

"We had the biggest (land) mine-clearing charity in the world. A certain quarter of the press destroyed that to nothing. Because I didn't get my divorce settlement for a few years I couldn't fund it because I didn't have any money. People didn't want to be associated with it because of all my bad press."