Lulu Embraces Single Life After Decades of Romantic Turmoil
Lulu, the iconic Sixties singer and enduring entertainment figure, has made a conscious decision to remain single in her seventies, despite acknowledging frequent feelings of loneliness. The Scottish performer, now 77, believes this choice represents a better alternative than risking further emotional devastation after what she describes as a lifetime of "awful relationships." This resolution comes amid startling new revelations about her late first husband, Bee Gees star Maurice Gibb, potentially fathering a child with another woman during their four-year marriage.
Early Heartbreak and Whirlwind Romance
Lulu's romantic troubles began during her teenage years when she developed a relationship with The Monkees' Davy Jones in 1967 after supporting his band at Wembley. The pair connected immediately, but Lulu was devastated to discover Jones had a long-term girlfriend, Linda Haines, who was pregnant with his child. "He had been living with that girl so he was coming out to see me and taking me out and the girl was living with him and I had no idea. I was heartbroken," she recalled of the painful deception.
The following year brought another significant relationship when Lulu met Maurice Gibb backstage at Top of the Pops in 1969. Their connection was instantaneous, with the 20-year-old Lulu and 19-year-old Gibb marrying within months in a whirlwind romance. Reflecting on their rapid courtship, Lulu mused: "Going steady is quite the wrong way to describe what was happening between us. Going unsteady might better sum up the way we fell in and out with each other."
Marriage Breakdown and Alcohol Struggles
Despite their initial passion, the marriage began to falter due to Maurice Gibb's alcoholism, with Lulu later developing her own alcohol addiction in her sixties. Speaking about their relationship on Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Lulu admitted: "We thought we were king and queen of the world and were fabulous. The drinking was a part of it but we shouldn't have got married in the first place... we should have just had a romance."
Lulu ultimately decided to end the marriage in 1973, acknowledging: "I decided it had to end. He didn't want it to end and it hurt him. I totally loved and adored him but... in love with him? I was probably in love with love." The separation left her feeling like a "failure," though she later reflected that marrying at such a young age contributed to their difficulties.
Post-Divorce Relationships and Further Marriage
Following her split from Gibb, Lulu embarked on a passionate fling with David Bowie, whom she described as "totally seductive" with a "magnetic sort of personality that was intoxicating to be around." She acknowledged feeling "unbelievably flattered" by Bowie's attention but recognized their fundamental differences: "I was not cool and he was cool."
In 1976, Lulu married celebrity hairdresser John Frieda, with whom she welcomed son Jordan the following year. The couple attempted to have another child but suffered a devastating loss in 1998 when Lulu miscarried. As Frieda's hairdressing empire expanded, the couple drifted apart, with Frieda ultimately requesting a divorce in 1990. Lulu later reflected that the marriage had effectively ended years earlier, stating: "I think John left me in 1988 when I lost the baby. I was in denial of my marriage going wrong."
Later Relationships and Age-Defying Romances
Though she never remarried, Lulu enjoyed relationships with younger men in subsequent years. She was linked to Take That's Jason Orange during their 1993 collaboration on "Relight My Fire," when she was 45 and he was 23. Lulu described their bond as a "special relationship" but insisted "nothing happened" romantically. In 2002, she was photographed with 21-year-old actor Stuart Manning at Victoria and David Beckham's World Cup party, commenting: "He is a lovely guy. But it's just a bit of fun, nothing too serious. I like young guys and I also like men who are my own age - I don't discriminate when it comes to age."
Choosing Solitude and Self-Discovery
In recent years, Lulu has found contentment in single life despite occasional loneliness. She admitted in 2014: "I was struggling with getting older. I was up and down about it. And then there's that feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night and you worry about the day when you won't be able to look after yourself. Of being a burden. Of feeling lonely."
However, she realized that relationships weren't the solution, stating: "Marriage isn't the answer to my so-called problems. I do admit that I sometimes feel, 'Oh, if I had somebody to do this with, it would be easier'. Sometimes, having someone makes it easier for getting through life." By 2024, she had achieved greater balance, musing: "My life is full of love, but it's not one on one. Been there, done it, and now it is not a priority. Maybe as a kid it was, but not now. It's about the bigger sense of love."
Shocking Revelation About Maurice Gibb
Lulu's reflections on her first marriage have taken on new significance with recent claims that Maurice Gibb, who died in 2003 from cardiac arrest, secretly fathered a child through a brief fling that may have occurred during their marriage. On The Louis Theroux Podcast, Lulu revealed: "I think he's got a son. It might have happened when we were married. I just found out. Someone showed me something and I can't remember the year he impregnated this girl after a one night stand and he has a son who has had his genes taken. It's proven. He's 100 percent Maurice's."
The claims center on Nick Endacott-Gibb, who was given up for adoption as a baby and believes he is Gibb's biological son with former Bee Gees studio manager Patti Nolder. After years of searching for his biological parents, Nick took DNA tests that showed a "100 percent match" with Maurice's known son Adam, who had submitted his DNA to Ancestry.co.uk. Facial recognition tests also indicated a high probability of relation, with one returning a 95.2% match percentage.
Despite this potentially painful revelation, Lulu maintains perspective, stating she hasn't investigated when the child was born "because it wasn't that important." She reflected: "I think I used to take myself way too seriously. And it's painful when you take yourself too seriously or when you see the world black and white because there are many grey areas and I've learned through trial and tribulation. I've had unbelievable highs, but I've also had a lot of lows, which most people have in their life."
Through her journey of romantic disappointments, self-discovery, and now this latest revelation about her first marriage, Lulu has arrived at a place of acceptance and self-reliance, choosing solitude over the risk of further heartbreak while maintaining affection for her past relationships.
