I’m single because my famous mum and dad have ruined romance for me, says singer Harleymoon Kemp
HARLEYMOON Kemp reckons her famous parents have so far ruined her chances of finding romance.
The 33-year-old daughter of Eighties pop stars Martin and Shirlie Kemp has been single for seven years and blames her loved-up mum and dad for having “too perfect” a relationship.
She says: “I’m single because I’ve not found anyone good enough.
“I know what ‘good’ looks like — my parents are very much in love, they hang out together all the time and are best friends.
“When that’s what you’re looking for, the bar’s set quite high.
“They have ruined romance for me, for sure.”
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Former Spandau Ballet and EastEnders star Martin and one-time Wham! backing singer Shirlie have been married for nearly 35 years.
They had Harleymoon in 1989 and Roman, now a TV presenter and radio DJ, in 1994.
And Harleymoon believes no relationship can live up to their love story.
She says: “When people end up with men like their dad, I get it. My dad’s so kind and passionate.
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“But finding someone who matches that is proving very tricky.
“I remember when my parents released a Christmas album. They played in the Royal Symphony Hall, singing love songs to each other. How am I meant to compete with that?”
Harleymoon channelled her frustrations into new single, Pretty 4 U, a sassy anthem about “guys who think they can get anything they want”.
She says her parents support her music, but whereas Martin, 61, tells her “whatever I want to hear”, Shirlie, 60, is a tougher critic.
Harleymoon says: “Mum is very much the momager of our family.
"She’s the one giving advice, helping, coming up with ideas. But she’s hard to impress. She’ll tell everyone what she thinks with an honest heart. It doesn’t upset me because she’s generally right.”
Roman, who reaches over 2.5million listeners a week with his Capital Radio show, has seen his profile soar over the years.
But it was older sister Harleymoon who quietly helped to kick-start his career.
She says: “I helped to get him his agent. I took him to auditions when he was younger. When he was 16, he was trying to work out what he wanted to do. I was a photographer, so I did a shoot with him and sent it to modelling agencies. In turn he gets behind all my projects.”
Harleymoon’s friends say she’s the “invisible” Kemp.
Despite her rising music profile, you rarely see her at awards nightss or on TV with her family.
Case in point — her absence from Celebrity Gogglebox earlier this year.
It featured Martin, Roman, Shirlie and their dogs but Harleymoon says she knew nothing about it.
Called the ‘invisible’ Kemp
She says: “I wasn’t bloody invited. I had no idea it was even happening. For so long I’ve been behind the scenes.
“I became a photographer and set up a production company. I also direct fashion adverts so I’m used to being behind the camera.
“When I did go to events with my family and we were pictured in the papers, my mates would joke that it would be ‘Martin, Shirlie, Roman and sister’. They always tease me about it.
“When Gogglebox came out, my friend saw it in the paper — a picture of the family and even the three dogs were in it — and she drew a little stick man where I should be and wrote, ‘Look at you all on the sofa!’ It’s hilarious, but I genuinely didn’t know about it.
Harleymoon knows how women view her dad, accepting his status as a sex symbol.
She says: “It’s not weird to think of him in that way. He’s good looking. It’s the same with Roman. Good male genes run in the family. And Mum doesn’t mind.
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“In fact she’s the one telling him to look good, to make sure his hair’s cut — she’s the one making sure Operation Kemp runs smoothly.”
- Harleymoon’s single PRETTY 4 U is out now.
