Gary Numan and his wife Gemma O’Neil have a bit of an unconventional love story.
Numan reflected on their nearly 30-year romance in an interview with London’s The Times on Wednesday, June 24, where he joked that their love affair might be seen as “illegal now.”
The Sharpe & Numan frontman first met O’Neill at a fan event in 1980, when he was 22 and she was just 12. Their paths wouldn’t cross again for another six years, this time when O’Neill was 18, after posing for a photo with the young fan. While he didn’t know her name then, Numan said that changed in 1988 when he signed an autograph for her and already knew to make it out to “Gemma.”
The pair’s bond deepened as she continued to attend his concerts, with what started as a fan-singer relationship blossoming into a friendship, and eventually, a full-on love affair.
“That’s how I attracted her, which I think is illegal now,” Numan told the outlet.
Gary Numan performing at Roundhouse, Chalk Farm in London MAR/Capital Pictures / MEGA
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As for how that shift happened, Numan said it was after he learned about the death of O’Neill’s mother. That’s when he proceeded to contact the fanclub she belonged to to get her number and send his condolences – a move which he again quipped, “may be illegal.”
When the British rock star made the call, he said O’Neill initially thought it was a prank, telling The Times, “she put the phone down — she thought it was somebody playing a cruel trick.”
Numan called back, however, and was able to convince O’Neill it was really him after passing a quiz the superfan posed to him about his life and career.
Elsewhere in the interview, Numan looked back on the pair’s first date, which involved bringing O’Neill along for a radio interview at a Northern England station, and ended with a meal at a local chain restaurant.
“I took her to a Little Chef because I’m very down to earth,” he said. “I don’t do all that flash, rich-man, pop-star stuff.”
Gary Numan and family seen at the Anesthesia: The Art of Oblivion Art opening. GoldStar Media / MEGA
Numan’s laidback persona appeared to work on O’Neill, who in a 1997 interview with The Independent called it “really cute.”
The couple would go on to marry that same year, after nearly a decade together, a dream come true for the once-fan, with Numan revealing in his interview with The Times that O’Neill had even once told a career counselor that she was going to “marry” the rock star.
While their coupling was far from traditional, the pair are still as strong as ever nearly three decades later, with Numan and O’Neill starting their own band in the form of a big, beautiful family: They daughters, Raven, 23, Persia, 21 and Echo, 19.
This story ‘Cars’ Singer Gary Numan Met His Wife When She Was 12, Admits Their Love Story Might Be ‘Illegal Now’ first appeared on InTouch Weekly. Follow InTouch Weekly on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.
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