Martin Kemp has jetted to Australia, where he’s competing in season 25 of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. The Spandau Ballet star, who typically resides in the affluent county of Hertfordshire, revealed on Instagram that his wife, Shirlie, and their two kids, Harley Moon and Roman, had each given him advice before heading into the jungle. A devoted family man, Martin, 64, has also spoken openly about the sweet bond that he and Shirlie share with their famous children.
“Me and Shirlie have a relationship with the kids where we talk about anything and everything,” Martin told HELLO!. “There’s nothing that can embarrass us, we will only find the fun in things.” As the singer aims to make his loved ones proud – and get further in the competition than his son, Roman, did in 2019 – we’re delving into Martin’s family life away from the cameras.
Shirlie Kemp is a pop icon
Martin found love with Pepsi & Shirlie singer, Shirlie Holliman, in 1983, although the father-of-two has stated that he’d already fallen for Shirlie through the TV, after watching her provide backing vocals for Wham!.
“I’d seen Wham! on Top Of The Pops singing Young Guns, and I couldn’t take my eyes off Shirlie. I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d seen,” he recalled to Mail Online in 2019. “Two weeks later, we were at some VIP screening and there she was. I gave her my number, but she didn’t call me for three weeks.'”
© Instagram/ShirlieKempWhile Shirlie was reluctant to call Martin at first, it was her dear friend, George Michael, who encouraged her to phone him, and he even came with her as a chaperone on her first date with Martin. After hitting it off, the duo became inseparable and eventually tied the knot on a clifftop in St. Lucia in 1988. They went on to welcome two children, daughter Harley Moon in 1989 and son Roman in 1993, and in a nod to their first date, Careless Whisper singer George was appointed godfather of their children.
© InstagramWhile Shirlie had enjoyed success as one half of Pepsi & Shirlie alongside Helen DeMacque in the 1980s, by the early ’90s, the group had gone on hiatus. “I always loved the music, but the fame, no. I was more than happy to leave that to Martin,” Shirlie told Mail Online, noting that once Harley Moon was born, she wanted to take a step back.
As of 2025, Martin and Shirlie have been married for 37 years. With their children moved out, the couple reside in a Victorian property in Hertfordshire, which they’ve spent the past few years renovating. “What you find is when your kids grow up and they leave home, you become boyfriend and girlfriend again. You go back to the beginning and back to how you used to be,” Martin told HELLO!.
Martin’s famous kids
Harley Moon Kemp
Martin’s daughter, Harley Moon, 36, is a singer-songwriter. Boasting 113k followers on Instagram, the music star has also appeared on TV and recently joined her brother, Roman, on season three of Celebrity Race Across The World. In a 2023 interview with The Times, Martin explained that Harley Moon and Roman were very different growing up.
© Instagram“Our second child, Roman, was born in 1993. He enjoyed every second of having a famous dad, but Harley found it really difficult,” the I’m a Celebrity star said. “She’d always been a real daddy’s girl who wanted to hold my hand wherever we went, and she didn’t enjoy the intrusion. But now she loves getting on stage and being the centre of attention — it just took her a bit longer to get there.”
Roman Kemp
A presenter, radio star and podcast host, Roman, 32, shot to fame after featuring on the Capital FM breakfast show from 2017 to 2024. No stranger to the world of television, he has also appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox with his dad, not to mention Martin & Roman’s Weekend Best!.
© Ian West – PA Images, GettyIn 2019, Roman competed in I’m a Celebrity. Popular among viewers, the 32-year-old finished in third place, with Andy Whymant coming in second and Jacqueline Jossa crowned Queen of the Jungle.
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