During a guest appearance on HBO’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace, the 80-year-old Copacabana singer said he didn’t think it was important to announce his sexuality during the earlier decades of his career.
Manilow came out in 2017, almost three years after he married his husband and manager Garry Kief in a private ceremony. The couple have been together for 45 years now, though they’ve kept much of their relationship away from the public eye.
When he came out to People magazine in 2017, Manilow — whose real name is Barry Pincus — worried he’d be “disappointing” some of his fans by revealing his sexuality. Instead, Manilow, who was 73 at the time, said the reaction from his fanbase was “beautiful.”
Despite his current feelings of nonchalance about his own coming out, Manilow said announcing his sexuality as his career was booming would have been a bad idea.
“Now being gay is no big deal,” he explained. “Back in the ’70s it would have killed a career.”
Regardless, the usually very private Manilow said he thinks “everybody knew that Garry and I were a couple all those years.”
“Really, Garry and I’ve been together for so long,” he said. “It just never dawned on me that we’re going to come out. But when we got married, it was a big deal, so we did.”
Manilow credited Kief for saving his life. He said he is thankful he had Kief to support him as his music career was taking off, despite keeping their relationship under wraps.
“As my career exploded, it was just crazy. And, you know, going back to an empty hotel room, you can get into a lot of trouble if you’re alone night after night after night,” Manilow explained. “But I met Garry right around when it was exploding. And I didn’t have to go back to those empty hotel rooms. I had somebody to cry with or to celebrate with.”
Manilow said he did not wish an isolated hotel room for any young people.
“It was pretty lonely until I met Garry. And then it was fun,” he smiled.
Kief is not Manilow’s first spouse. In 1964, Manilow married his high school sweetheart, Susan Deixler. They were married for one year.
Manilow told CNN’s Wallace he “really did love” Deixler, but added “the gay thing was pretty, pretty strong. I couldn’t deny it.”
The singer said he knew he was gay before marrying Deixler, but their marriage ended because Manilow couldn’t be the committed husband his then-wife needed. He revealed that his sexuality was not the reason his marriage failed.
“We had a very nice marriage, it was great, but I was away every night making music, as a young musician would be,” Manilow described. “It wasn’t good for me, and it wasn’t good for her.”
“I couldn’t be the proper husband,” he continued. “I was out making music every night, sowing my wild oats. I wasn’t ready to settle down.”
Brooklyn-born Manilow skyrocketed to international fame in 1974 after his release of the ever-popular pop-rock ballad Mandy. He became one of the biggest-selling musicians of all time. Prior to his success as a singer-songwriter, Manilow was behind a number of famous commercial jingles for brands like State Farm and Band-Aid — a gig that he has said helped him create catchy hooks for his own hit songs.
Justin Bieber ‘haunted’ by past amid Diddy scandal, claims source
Justin Bieber has been affected by the arrest of former mentor Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and is struggling to trust those in his inner-circle, according to new reports.
RadarOnline say that the pop icon has withdrawn from the spotlight in the wake of all that has happened over the past few weeks regarding Diddy. Multiple videos of Bieber as a teen have spread around the internet following Diddy’s arrest, prompting all manner of conspiracy theories and speculation.
Music mogul Diddy, readers will surely already know, is facing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Another wave of legal filings was announced on October 1, as per the Los Angeles Times, with it revealed that more than 100 people have planned to file lawsuits alleging sexual abuse and exploitation on the part of Diddy.
Justin Bieber has been affected by the arrest of former mentor Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and is struggling to trust those in his inner-circle, according to new reports.
RadarOnline say that the pop icon has withdrawn from the spotlight in the wake of all that has happened over the past few weeks regarding Diddy. Multiple videos of Bieber as a teen have spread around the internet following Diddy’s arrest, prompting all manner of conspiracy theories and speculation.
Music mogul Diddy, readers will surely already know, is facing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Another wave of legal filings was announced on October 1, as per the Los Angeles Times, with it revealed that more than 100 people have planned to file lawsuits alleging sexual abuse and exploitation on the part of Diddy.
In light of Diddy’s arrest, speculation has linked a number of A-listers to the now infamous “Freak Off” parties he used to host. Not only that, but clear links have resurfaced relating to Diddy’s connection to Justin Bieber, said to have been just 15 when the pair met.
According to a troublesome claim made by RadarOnline, Bieber, now 30 years old, is “haunted” by his past.
Concerns were raised by fans recently when Bieber appeared fatigued and gaunt while stepping out for dinner with his wife Hailey. RadarOnline suggest that it was around that time old clips of Bieber and Diddy went viral.
In one of the clips in question, Diddy boasted about spending “48 hours” with Bieber, then just 15.
“He’s having 48 hours with Diddy. What we’re doing, we can’t really disclose. But it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream … we’re gonna go full crazy,” he said.
Now sources are suggesting that Bieber’s links to Diddy may be adversely affecting the Baby singer. One individual, said to have worked in Bieber’s team for years, told PageSix: “Do I believe he was involved in some stupid s—? Yeah.
“He was a teenager. He was the biggest pop star in the world. Everyone was worried about him, and we didn’t know if he would survive it.
“People took advantage of everything he did.”
Another source added: “Justin’s done some really crazy s— and he’s alienated the people around him. He doesn’t trust them.”
Since his arrest, Diddy has been denied bail twice, with judges citing the fact that Combs could intimidate witnesses.
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