Barry Manilow was a heartthrob musician for decades, snatching the hearts of female fans around the world with his mesmerizing vocals. It came as a shock to many of them that the singer suddenly revealed his 39-year relationship with a man with whom he shares a child and wed at 71.
Barry Manilow, born Barry Alan Pincus to a single mom named Edna Manilow, rose to fame after his pop-rock ballad “Mandy” hit the charts. Since then, he was constantly under the spotlight, snatching the hearts of his millions of female-dominated fans.
It was a shock to many that he suddenly revealed his 39-year relationship with a man, especially since he was once married to his high school sweetheart, Susan Deixler. Their relationship was once highly-publicized, as fans enjoyed watching the singer’s every move.
Aside from music, Manilow’s first love was Deixler. She was the “prettiest girl in the class.” He once described her lovingly, saying: “she was adorable, small with great legs and a voluptuous figure. Jet-black hair, dark brown eyes, and a smile that lit up the room.”
Deixler ended up liking Manilow back, and when he was 21 and she was 19, they exchanged vows before a judge in 1964 before repeating the ceremony with a rabbi after her family insisted.
Unfortunately, their union didn’t last long, and the pair separated two years later. Manilow admitted that the wedding was rushed, and while he was in love with Deixler, he was simply not ready for a life-long commitment like marriage.
According to the pop-rock superstar, he was preoccupied with making music that it didn’t take long for his relationship with Deixler to deteriorate. He said:
“I was out making music every night, sowing my wild oats — I was too young. I wasn’t ready to settle down.”
Although it came at the expense of his marriage falling apart, Manilow pouring his heart and soul into music eventually started to pay off. He skyrocketed to fame, beginning with the hit ballad “Mandy” before releasing classic hits like “Copacabana (At the Copa),” “Can’t Smile Without You,” and “Looks Like We Made It.”
Only four years after “Mandy” hit the charts, his fame allowed him to meet Garry Kief, a TV executive that would end up being the love of his life. While Manilow maintains he was not struggling with his sexuality when he separated from Deixler, he would come to terms with the fact that the person he was in love with was a man.
While Manilow found “the one,” he had to keep his sexuality and same-sex relationship private at the time to stay away from controversies and tabloid headlines. He didn’t open up, saying “it was very difficult to do that [back then], to have a conversation like we’re having, because it would have [resulted in] a very negative article.”
THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS LIFE
Soon after meeting Kief, the TV executive became Manilow’s manager, which is a role he has until today. He is also the president of Barry Manilow Productions, and for a good reason. According to Manilow, “[Kief is] the smartest person I’ve ever met in my life – and a great guy, too.”
Some might think Kief hit it big when he met Manilow in 1978, but the singer insists it’s actually him who hit the jackpot. He knew he finally met “the one,” which holds true until today. “I knew that this was it. I was one of the lucky ones. I was pretty lonely before that,” he gushed.
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