Although Martin Kemp and his wife Shirlie have been married for 37 years, some friends and family members were against the couple’s decision to tie the knot in Saint Lucia, which the couple have visited since then.
Shirlie Kemp has admitted she “upset a lot of people” by opting for the wedding she “wanted” before marrying husband Martin Kemp. The famous pair have been wed for an incredible 37 years, though their choice to exchange vows on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia reportedly didn’t sit well with certain friends and relatives.
Shirlie and Martin, who is currently appearing on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, wed in 1988 and are parents to two children – son Roman, a TV and radio host, and daughter Harley Moon. The pair were both used to the spotlight – Martin as part of hit 80s group Spandau Ballet, and Shirlie performing as a backing vocalist for Wham!
The couple decided to get married by themselves on a clifftop on the sun-drenched island with views over the Caribbean because of this. Although she acknowledges that it upset “a lot of people,” Shirley says she still believes it was the “wedding I wanted” because of how she recalls it as one of her most memorable experiences.
Chatting on the Travel Secrets podcast, the mother-of-two explained: “It was the wedding I wanted. I had a big fear of weddings and all the attention and to wear a big dress. I think maybe because you’re in the band, in the limelight, that’s enough, that’s really fed my soul,” reports the Manchester Evening News.
“I had a big fear about getting married, so I didn’t need to be the show’s star.” With just Martin around, I would be on my own. Many people were upset by me. Because it wasn’t practical and because we were frequently traveling for work at the time, it’s a beautiful memory.
Shirlie revealed she was inspired to select Saint Lucia as their wedding destination by her bandmate Helen ‘Pepsi’ DeMacque, whose parents emigrated from Saint Lucia to the United Kingdom during the 1950s. Martin described the stunning location for their ceremony on the podcast, which took place with just a single witness in attendance.
Following a “traumatic” visit to China, Martin revealed how his wife Shirlie sought his assistance. As a vocalist for Wham, Shirley traveled to Beijing and Guangzhou. in 1985.
Wham! marked a culturally significant milestone for China. became the nation’s first Western pop band to play.
Shirlie calls the trip to China “the most shocking experience” however. One of the new Seven Wonders of the World, the backing singer recalls being ensnared by China’s enormous Great Wall.
According to legend, hundreds of thousands of people died while the wall was being constructed, making it known as “the longest cemetery on Earth.” On the Travel Secrets podcast, Shirley revealed, “Everything just upset me in a way, I thought, “Who built this wall?” Building’s loss of lives was a culture that I was deeply saddened by.
She also mentioned that there was “something quite traumatizing” that transpired while on the trip.
The Spandau Ballet star and former EastEnders actor, Martin, ended up paying for his wife’s therapy because the costs of the trip “mounted up.” He admitted that Shirlie’s return from China cost him a lot of money in therapy. The truth is that.
His then-girlfriend begged for another vacation after returning from the Far East. She demanded, “Martin, take me to Florida, I need to go somewhere brand-new.”
The trip to Florida was not just the therapy, according to Martin, but it was also. Everything was “mountaining up.”
Source: Mirror
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