Maureen gradually created a new life for herself and the children but the Starkeys remained a family unit. A friend commented: "Ringo never lost that place in his heart for Maureen. He`d only lost that person that fell in love with her." On the third anniversary of their divorce in 1978 Ringo and Maureen with their children attended a party together setting off press speculation that they were reconciling. Maureen married Isaac Tigrett, of Hard Rock Cafe and House of Blues fame, on May 27, 1989 in Monaco. They had one daughter together: Augusta King Tigrett, born January 4, 1987 in Dallas, Texas.
Maureen died at the age of 48 on December 30, 1994 in Seattle, Washington of leukemia despite a bone marrow transplant from her son Zak. Her four children, mother Flo, husband Isaac Tigrett and ex-husband Ringo were all at her bedside when she died. Ringo was devastated by her death and a friend commented to the press: "She took a part of Ringo with her when she died last week. There was so much of Ringo that he had lost over the years which only Maureen held in her heart." McCartney wrote the song "Little Willow", which appears on his 1997 album Flaming Pie, as a tribute to her memory, and he dedicated it to her children.