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.
Woman Who Is Allegedly Having an Affair With Prince William Speaks Out on the Rumors
Amid swirling rumors around the health of the Princess of Wales and her absence, a new shocking report has surfaced alleging that Prince William is having an affair. Here’s what we know about it and the mystery woman.
Kate’s long disappearance.
Speculation about Prince William’s fidelity has come into the spotlight once again. On an episode of The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert mentioned, «The kingdom has been all fluttered by the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton… Kate’s absence may be related to… William, having an affair.» The conversation didn’t stop there, as he added, «The other alleged woman is — The Marchioness of Cholmondeley… there have been rumors of an affair since 2019.» This has reignited conversations about the royal couple’s private life.
«According to tabloids back then, when Kate supposedly confronted him about it, he laughed it off, saying there was nothing to it. Always a good response when your wife accuses you of cheating,» he continued.
The allegations run deep.
In April 2019, there were quiet talks about Prince William and Rose Hanbury. People whispered that William might not have been loyal to Kate, especially after a supposed falling out between Kate and Rose. The gossip came back into the spotlight when the palace didn’t share why Kate was in the hospital.
Kate has been resting away from the public eye since she left the hospital. The royal household said she won’t be back to her royal responsibilities until Easter is over. Rose, a former model who is married to David Cholmondeley and has three kids, is closely connected to the royal family. Her grandmother was a bridesmaid at Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding, and her son was part of King Charles III’s coronation ceremony.
Back in 2019, a magazine claimed there was an affair, which shocked the high society. Kate seemed to be uneasy with William’s public behavior and kept her distance from Rose, which made people think there was a problem.
Rose has finally spoken on the matter.
Lady Rose Hanbury, 40, addressed the whispers about her and Prince William recently. The mother of 3 made a public statement via her lawyers denying the rumors saying the rumors of her having an affair with William «are completely false.»
A recent photo shared by Kate became a huge topic of controversy. Check it out here.
Preview photo credit Wojciech Olkusnik/East News, IAN VOGLER/AFP/East News, PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
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