Paul O’Grady doesn’t live with his husband.
The 62-year-old television presenter tied the knot with Andre Portasio earlier this year and says the secret to their successful relationship is not living together.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We’re doing a Helena Bonham Carter and Tim whatshisname [Burton; who never lived together], and it works a treat. It’s the same as before. We see each other all the time. We just don’t live together, which for me makes for a perfect relationship because when you’ve had enough, you can say, ‘I’ll see you, I’m off.’ I’m a bit cranky of a morning. I’m a cobra. I don’t get up, I’m exhumed, and I slither down the stairs looking for trouble. But otherwise I’m fine. [Andre’s] pristine, you know, everything’s tidy – and I’m not."
And Paul was devastated that his best friend Cilla Black – who passed away in 2015 – missed out on his wedding, which took place at The Goring Hotel in London in August.
He said: "She would be over the moon. It was just such a shame she wasn’t there. She wouldn’t have sung. She would never sing in public. If anyone said, ‘Cilla, give us a song’, she’d say, ‘I can’t, me voice is bad, but Paul will’. She wouldn’t get up at a wedding. She never used to sing in the shower or round the house."
Paul had never thought about getting married to Andre – who he has been with for over a decade – until Julian Clary suggested it.
He explained: "Julian put the seed in my head. He said, ‘I’ve got married. You should’. And he’s right, then you protect your partner. If anything happens to me, he is protected. It makes sense. Married life is the same as before. We have known each other so long. Nothing has changed, really. And it’s nice. I like saying I’m married – better than saying I’m a divorcee, which I was before. You feel more committed. You have made a vow, you have to stick to it. But we still fight like cat and dog."
Paul O’Grady doesn’t live with his husband
