29 March 2023 , 08:45
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Paul O'Grady leaves behind his husband Andre Portasio after he died "unexpectedly but peacefully" on Tuesday evening aged 67.
The Radio 2 star and Lily Savage icon found himself in a 'marriage of convenience' in the 1970s before settling down with ballet dancer Andre.
The comedian-turned-presenter won over the nation's hearts with his down-to-earth personality married partner Andre in 2017, having been together since 2005.
Paul tied the knot with Andre - 25 years his junior - at the plush Goring Hotel in Central London in a 30 minute ceremony on August 5.
And the TV star admitted he had never considered marrying Andre until fellow comic Julian Clary suggested it.
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Paul O'Grady and Andre Portasio were together since 2005 (PA)
The couple married in 2017 (Can Nguyen/REX/Shutterstock)“Julian put the seed in my head. He said, ‘I’ve got married. You should’," Paul explained.
"And he’s right, then you protect your partner. If anything happens to me, he is protected. It makes sense.
"You feel more committed. You have made a vow, you have to stick to it. But we still fight like cat and dog," Paul added.
After tying the knot, Paul admitted not much had changed for the loved-up couple.
"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."
Before settling down with Andre, Paul was married to Portuguese model Teresa Fernandes.
He admitted it was a ‘marriage of convenience’, and they were not in an active relationship.
Paul's husband Andre was a professional ballet dancer (Dan Wooller/REX/Shutterstock)
They wed in a 30 minute ceremony (Ray Tang/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)The couple wed in 1977 and Paul later said he married her to prevent her from being deported.
"Teresa, I call her the lesbian Portuguese barmaid, was lovely. She looked like David Cassidy," he explained.
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"We worked in a club in Westbourne Grove, London, when I was 22. She was from a very strict Catholic family and was always being hassled by them: “Why aren’t you getting married?” So I said: “Come on then, we’ll get married”, and we did."
The marriage ended 28 years later when Paul remembered he was actually married.
"I had no idea we were still married until my manager Brendan said: ‘If anything happened to you, everything would go to your wife. It’s like a real-life Corrie story-line."
Following the sad news, famous faces paid their respects to Paul.
Tributes have been pouring in for the star (WireImage)TV presenter Lorraine Kelly wrote on Twitter : "Such sad news. Paul O’Grady - funny, fearless, brave, kind and wise. Will be sorely missed. A really special man."
Carol Vorderman tweeted: "Paul O'Grady. Already giving them raucous, ripping up the rulebook, mischief making, calling it out, loving hell in heaven. Paul, what are we meant to do without you?"
And Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell added: "Paul wasn’t just a brilliant comedian and broadcast personality but a much admired campaigner for LGBT+ equality and animal rights."