Gary Barlow has shared a rare insight into his marriage of 25 years with wife Dawn, crediting his long-term love for helping him overcome “dark days”.
The Take That frontman and his wife Dawn’s fourth child Poppy was tragically stillborn in 2012, something Gary is still “angry” about and has struggled to come to terms with. In an insightful conversation on The High Performance Podcast, the former X Factor judge opened up about how he managed to pull through with his partner’s help.
Host Jake Humphrey asked the ‘Rule the World’ singer: “Do you mind me asking what [Dawn] did for you in the dark days?” Gary responded: “She never grilled me, she never pressed me about anything. She probably knew I was doing nothing in the studio all day. She was never confrontational about it. She never questioned. Never any of that at all.”
Reflecting on what makes their union rock solid, he continued: “We’ve been together for a long time and we’ve had a lots of ups and downs throughout our lives. People often say, ‘What’s the secret?’ I don’t think there is one thing.
“The only thing I would say is, just try and be nice to each other because if you really do that, things are great.”
He also touched upon how his own parents’ marriage has shaped his view of what a relationship should be. Gary explained: “I lived in a very happy house. I don’t ever remember my parents arguing; it was such a happy place.
© Instagram“They were married for 43 years, my mum and dad, they were such a happy couple. I think when I got married, it was like, there is no second marriage, this is it.
“[Dawn and I] have always treated this thing as something so important to us. Having a lifelong partner is something I want. We’ll get through anything. We’ve got through a lot, and we’re still here, as happy as anything. I don’t believe there will be a day when something will beat us.”
Gary Barlow’s family tragedy
Gary and Dawn, whom the Patience singer met in 1988 during a music video shoot, share three children: Daniel, 25, Emily, 23, and Daisy, 16. Their worlds were forever changed when their fourth child, Poppy, was tragically delivered stillborn in August 2012.
© InstagramJust eight days after her passing, Gary was forced to perform alongside Take That at the 2012 Olympics closing ceremony.
Despite a statistic that 95% of couples split up after experiencing a similar loss, Gary has always credited the tragedy with bringing him and Dawn closer together. He first opened up about the pain they faced in his 2018 autobiography A Better Me, revealing that it felt like the right time to share their struggles with the public.
Speaking on The Imperfects podcast last year, Gary further discussed his family tragedy. “I don’t talk about this in great detail, and I literally don’t because I’m still kind of figuring it out a little bit. My wife’s emotions were completely different to mine. I’ve been angry for a long time about that, I haven’t really found peace with it yet.”
© InstagramHe continued: “We’re one of the lucky couples because for us it’s brought us ever closer together and we do have three other children as well and that’s helped us… I guess it’s made me stronger. There was definitely a point where I wondered if we’d ever be back to where we were before but I think we have got there.”
Gary and Dawn, who wed in 2000, tend to keep their three eldest children out of the spotlight, but the pop star did open up about their chosen career paths in an interview with the Daily Mirror.
“The two oldest ones [Daniel and Emily] have kind of gone into medicine and physiology – studying strength and conditioning. My youngest one, Daisy, I’m not too sure what she’s heading for but again, she’s very studious… unlike me and my wife,” he said in November 2024.
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