Inside Paul O'Grady's close bond with daughter Sharon who he had with a friend
Decades before Paul O’Grady found love with his husband Andre Portasio, the animal lover lived on a farm in rural Kent with his dear friend Diane Jansen - and the pair had a baby daughter together.
Paul's beloved daughter Sharon O’Grady was born in 1974 when Paul was just 18.
The TV favourite, who died on Tuesday aged 67, had a great relationship with his only child – even giving her away at her wedding when she tied the knot with her childhood friend, Philip Moseley.
Sharing details of his daughter's wedding day and his close bond with Sharon, Paul said: “It was a really great day. Sharon looked fabulous and Philip is a smashing fella. They fit together like a pan and lid.”
He added: “Sharon wore a lovely floaty pink dress – because she looks shocking in white. She looked like a Disney princess.”
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Paul with husband Andre, sister Sheila and daughter Sharon when he got an MBE (PA)Now 48 years old, Sharon is mum to son Abel, who recently turned 16, and daughter, Halo, thought to be around 14.
Paul was close to his grandchildren and shared a picture of Abel on his Instagram account in December and wrote: “This little monster is 16 today. Happy Birthday Abel love GanGan xx.”
Paul – who rose to fame as his alter ego Lily Savage - was also married to a woman once for 28 years, but it was a marriage of convenience.
It came about when he started working at a gay club called Showplace in 1976, two years after daughter Sharon was born.
There he met a Portuguese model called Teresa Fernandes, who also happened to be gay and was facing deportation.
Paul with beloved daughter Sharon and grandson Abel as a baby (Beretta/Sims/REX/Shutterstock)
Paul married true love Andre in 2017 (Can Nguyen/REX/Shutterstock)To stop her being kicked out the country, Paul agreed to tie the knot with Teresa in May 1977 as a ‘marriage of convenience’.
He later admitted they never had a relationship but remained married for nearly three decades as they lost touch.
They eventually divorced in 2005 after Paul’s manager warned everything would go to Teresa were something to happen to him.
Speaking about their marriage, Paul previously said: “Teresa – I call her the lesbian Portuguese barmaid – was lovely. She looked like David Cassidy.
Paul died 'unexpectedly and peacefully' on March 28 at the age of 67 (ITV)“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.”
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“We were married for 28 years," Paul shared.
The Blankety Blank star went on to reveal he had forgotten the pair tied the knot all those years ago, and eventually had to call and end to the marriage when he started to think of his future.
"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 storyline.”
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