David Hasselhoff didn’t think it was "right" to marry his new wife Hayley "for the longest time."
The 66-year-old actor tied the knot with his model partner – who he met in 2011 when he was a judge on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ – in an intimate ceremony in the southern region of Puglia, Italy, last month and, although he knew instantly they were right for one another, he put off proposing to her because he didn’t want to hold her back from having children due to their 27-year age gap.
Speaking to OK! magazine, he said: "For the longest time I didn’t think it was right to marry Hayley as I was so much older and I didn’t want to take away the fun and the youth and the excitement of growing old together and having children.
"We’ve been together for about seven years and we’ve had such a great time. I’ve realised how much I love Hayley and how much we’ve become part of each other’s life."
And it wasn’t just David who was concerned about their age gap as Hayley, 39, thought about their differences "a lot" when they first got together but it doesn’t bother her anymore.
She explained: "At the very start I thought the age difference was a lot and I was nervous about it but it doesn’t bother me now. David acts so much younger, he doesn’t see his age. I’m probably older than my years. I don’t feel like he’s that much older than me."
David knew instantly that he wanted to get to know Hayley when she told him she had no idea who he played in ‘Baywatch’ because it proved she wasn’t just a crazy fan.
Hayley explained: "I asked him to have my photo taken with him and he asked for my number."
David added: "I was 99 per cent sure she’d say yes, as most people do, but she said no.
"Then Hayley asked me the question which made me think I might have found the right person. She said: ‘Who did you play on ‘Baywatch’?’ She hadn’t grown up watching me."
David has two grown-up children Taylor, 28, and Hayley, 25, with his ex-wife Pamela Bach.
David Hasselhoff didn’t think it was ‘right’ to marry wife Hayley before now
