Paul O’Grady and I had the longest marriage in showbiz… but we didn’t love each other – I didn’t go to his funeral
PAUL O’Grady’s lesbian wife has broken her silence on their 28-year marriage saying it was probably “one of the longest in showbiz”.
Teresa Fernandes, 73, was married to the much-loved TV star for almost three decades but didn’t attend his funeral and says that the pair were never really in love.
Teresa and Paul were married in a small registry office in 1977 and “forgot to divorce” for 28 years.
Speaking to MailOnline Teresa joked: “We probably enjoyed one of the longest marriages in showbiz”.
She went on to say that Paul was a “very special close friend” but the couple “didn’t really love each other” and it would “never have worked” as she was lesbian and he was gay.
Theresa says that she and Paul “drifted apart” around the time he got famous and she hadn’t seen him since the early 1980s, but holds very fond memories of their time together.
The couple met when they were working at north London gay bar The Showcase in the early 1970s.
In his autobiography ‘The Devil Rides Out’ Paul wrote how it was a marriage of convenience as Therea’s visa was about to expire, and her mother was chasing her to get married.
But Theresa said: “Only one part of that is true.
“Yes my mother was chasing me to get married, but my papers were always in order, I was never going to be kicked out.”
And adds that: “Paul stepped in to help me out and keep my mother happy.”