The story of Maurice Gibb’s whirlwind marriage to Lulu

7 October 2024, 13:04

Maurice Gibb and Lulu were married for four years. Picture: Alamy

By Naomi Bartram

Maurice Gibb and Lulu married just a few months after meeting - here's their love story explained...

Maurice Gibb became a pop legend after teaming up with his brothers Barry and Robin Gibb to form the Bee Gees.

The trio stormed the charts with songs such as 'How Deep Is Your Love', 'Tragedy' and 'Night Fever', while Maurice also went on to write for other artists such as Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton.

But away from the music, Maurice is also known for his marriage to Lulu which ended after just four years.

Lulu and Maurice met in 1969. Picture: Alamy

The pair met backstage at Top of the Pops when Lulu was 20 and he was 19 back in 1969.

They quickly fell in love and ended up marrying the same year, with the wedding held just weeks before Lulu’s Eurovision appearance.

Lulu recalls about Maurice: "I thought Maurice was cute, so I said, 'In that case, tell him to stop talking about me and take me out'.

“He did just that, I never expected much to come from this, but in fact our relationship grew, after a fashion. Going steady is quite the wrong way to describe what was happening between us.

“Going unsteady might better sum up the way we fell in and out with each other".

Maurice and Lulu split after four years. Picture: Alamy

While not everyone approved of their whirlwind romance - including Maurice’s brother Barry - the couple tied the knot in Gerrards Cross, a town in Buckinghamshire, England.

They had to postpone their honeymoon in Mexico due to Lulu's Eurovision appearance.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for the showbiz couple as Maurice was said to have been battling alcoholism at the time.

Speaking on an episode of Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, Lulu said: “We thought we were king and queen of the world and were fabulous.

“The drinking was a part of it but we shouldn’t have got married in the first place... we should have just had a romance.

Maurice married his second wife, Yvonne Spenceley Gibb. Picture: Alamy

“I decided it had to end. He didn’t want it to end and it hurt him. I totally loved and adored him but... in love with him? I was probably in love with love.”

They divorced in 1974 and went their separate ways.

Lulu’s second marriage was to hairdresser-to-the-stars John Frieda and they got married in 1977 and welcomed son Jordan the same year.

After 14 years together, they split in 1991 and Jordan flew to America to live with John.

As for Maurice, he married his second wife, Yvonne Spenceley Gibb, on 17 October 1975.

They went on to have two children, son Adam (born 23 February 1976) and daughter Samantha (born 2 July 1980), and stayed together until Maurice died from a twisted intestine at the age of 53 in 2003.