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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Susan Knox & Gemma Jones

Paul O'Grady's family life including 'marriage of convenience' as grandson turns 16

Paul O'Grady has marked a milestone as his grandson turned 16.

Posting to Instagram, the proud grandad celebrated the teenager's birthday. He shared a throwback picture of Abel as a young boy as he wrote: " This little monster is 16 today. Happy Birthday Abel love GanGan xx".

Fans reminisced on Paul introducing Abel to the world when he was a newborn. He broke the news on his Channel 4 chat show not long after his daughter, Sharyn Mousley, gave birth in Liverpool.

READ MORE: Paul O'Grady 'taking a year off' for Christmas

According to The Mirror, the For the Love of Dogs presenter has been enjoying a blissful marriage with ballet dancer Andre Portasio since 2017, but before that, Paul found himself in a 'marriage of convenience'. After the TV star took up a job at a gay club called the Showplace in 1976, he befriend a Portuguese lesbian named Teresa Fernandes.

In May 1977, they married to prevent her deportation, but afterward, they lost contact and only legally divorced in 2005. Although the pair were married for 28 years, Paul admitted that he was never in a relationship with Teresa.

Speaking about the marriage, Paul has previously said: “Teresa, I call her the lesbian Portuguese barmaid, was lovely. She looked like David Cassidy.

"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. We were married for 28 years."

The TV star went on to reveal that 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. He said: "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.”

Although Paul never had children with Teresa, he did welcome a daughter - and two grandchildren - with another woman. Back in 1974, Paul welcomed his daughter, Sharon, with his dear friend Diane Jansen.

The TV star has a great relationship with his only child, and he even gave her away at her wedding when she tied the knot with her childhood friend, Philip Moseley. Lifting the lid on the special day and his special bond with Sharon, Paul previously said: "It was a really great day. Sharon looked fabulous and Philip is a smashing fella. They fit together like a pan and a lid.

“Sharon wore a lovely floaty pale pink dress – because she looks shocking in white. She looked like a Disney princess."

TV favourite Paul has been married to ballet ace Andre Portasio - 25 years his junior - since 2017. He tied the knot with former English National Ballet star at the plush Goring Hotel in Central London.

Paul, who began dating Andre 16 years ago, previously admitted that he had never considered marrying him until fellow comic Julian Clary suggested it. He said: “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. You feel more committed. You have made a vow, you have to stick to it. But we still fight like cat and dog."

After tying the knot, Paul admitted that not much changed between him and Andre. He said: " 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."

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