As the legendary rock star Alice Cooper renewed his vows with his wife, Sheryl, on their 50th wedding anniversary, surrounded by friends and four generations of family in a heatwave in Phoenix, he looked into his bride’s eyes and declared: “Our 50 years together has proved to a cynical world that true love lasts and is very much alive.”
And how true that is, for theirs is renowned as the strongest – and longest – marriage in rock ‘n’ roll.
HELLO! was exclusively invited to share their incredible day on March 21, 2026, as 220 guests from music, show business, and the couple’s local church witnessed Alice, 78, and dancer Sheryl, 69, say “I do” – again – at the historic Wrigley Mansion.
In a stunning outdoor service, set against the backdrop of Phoenix’s famous Camelback Mountain, the couple was remarried by Sheryl’s 92-year-old pastor father, William Goddard, reprising his role of 50 years ago, when he officiated at their first wedding.
Rock ‘n’ roll ceremony
During an unseasonal March heatwave that brought record-breaking temperatures, guests arrived in black tie to witness a ceremony that was as romantic as it was rock ‘n’ oll. They included Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan and his wife, Susan Holmes McKagan, the lyricist and artist Bernie Taupin and his wife, Heather Kidd, and the rock stars Rob Zombie, Rob Halford, Criss Angel, and Marilyn Manson.
© Susan Stripling PhotographyThe bridal party included the couple’s daughters, Calico, 44, and Sonora, 34, their daughter-in-law, Amanda Moore Cooper, their niece Sophia Oddi, and friends Amber Williams, Lisa Savale, and Mila McCabe. Sheryl’s sister, Shauna Bargar, was her matron of honour.
The best man was Shep Gordon, Alice’s manager of 55 years, and one of only six people present, including Alice and Sheryl, who attended the original ceremony in 1976. The ten groomsmen included the couple’s son, Dashiell, 40, their sons-in-law Jed Williams and Diego Diaz, and friends Chuck Savale, Bob Ezrin, Coye Pointer, and Kyler Clark.
© Susan Stripling PhotographyWhen asked about the secret to their longevity, Alice told us: “People always say that marriage is hard work, but Sheryl and I have the easiest marriage you can imagine. We never argue. Sheryl and I believe in each other.”
His wife added: “We have a concise definition of marriage, and it’s two dysfunctional people who refuse to give up on each other!”
© Susan Stripling PhotographyThe pair, who still perform and tour together, met in 1975, when Sheryl auditioned for Alice’s Welcome To My Nightmare tour. Less than a year later, when Sheryl was 19 and Alice 27, they married in Acapulco, Mexico.
Today, the pair have the relaxed familiarity of a couple who have been deeply in love for half a century, finishing each other’s sentences and encouraging each other to tell stories.
And what stories they are, from the tale of how Alice was introduced to best man Shep by Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin to Sheryl’s recounting of how Alice proposed in 1975, “like a scene from Psycho“, when she had just got out of the shower.
Alice tells us that the second time around, he proposed to her on stage. “We were doing our Christmas show [last year] and our 50th anniversary was coming up. I said: ‘Oh, by the way, will you marry me?'”
© Susan Stripling PhotographySpecial day
Before the ceremony, the couple, who are devout Christians, shared a brief moment together to say a prayer, but they did not glimpse one another until Sheryl walked up the aisle.
Wearing a Veronica Koch white satin full-length corseted gown with a sharply defined dropped basque waist and a striking cat-eye neckline, and carrying a bouquet created by Sheryl’s friend Lisa Savale of Savale Flowers Antiques, the bride was announced by a trumpet.
After blowing her groom a kiss, she processed up the aisle, on her father’s arm, to Handel’s The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.
© Susan Stripling Photography“She looked absolutely sensational, like a Disney heroine,” Alice told us afterwards. “It was almost an unreal look, because there’s the building, perfectly centred, and then there’s the princess right there and you’re thinking: ‘Well, that couldn’t be any better’.”
“People always say that marriage is hard work, but Sheryl and I have the easiest marriage you can imagine. We never argue. Sheryl and I believe in each other.”
Bernie Taupin, one of Alice’s oldest friends, told HELLO! that he would “have come across the world for them [today]”, and Duff McKagan revealed that he and Susan, his wife of 26 years, view the Coopers as an inspiration.
“To have Alice and Sheryl as mentors in love, it’s lovely. We’re around them a lot because we live near each other in Hawaii, so we see them quite a bit,” Duff told us. “To be invited to come [today], I still freak out about that – you know, he’s [expletive] Alice Cooper! But they’re just the best people.”
With so many rock stars in the room, the night could not finish without a show.
© Susan Stripling PhotographyReturning outside to a transformed space complete with a dancefloor and a stage surrounded by flickering candles under the moonlight, the couple enjoyed their first dance to “This I Swear Is True” by The Skyliners, performed by the country band Sixwire. After that, it was a rock-star free-for-all…
For the full exclusive report and all the photos, pick up a copy of HELLO! Magazine on newsstands from March 30, 2026, and your digital devices, and don’t forget to join HELLO!’s VIP club for even more exclusive content.
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