'we got away with it for so long'
Paul Burrell reveals all about his sexuality on This Morning and hints his wife Maria always knew he was gay
PAUL Burrell has opened up about coming out as gay on Monday's This Morning.
The former Royal butler joined Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on the ITV show after The Sun exclusively revealed he was getting married to his male lover Graham Cooper, just six months after his divorce from wife Maria.
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He said: "We’re lucky we got away with it for so long.
"I always knew [he was attracted to men], but I always knew I wanted to be married and have children too.
"I wanted to get married, I wanted to have a family."
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The 58-year-old has two sons with his ex-wife, who he was married to for 32 years after meeting at Buckingham Palace.
Asked by Phillip if the Queen knew about his sexuality, Paul replied: "She knew me well, I stood beside her for 10 years.
"I think she might have, I think she is a very astute woman and she knows her staff inside out.
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"All the people around her in her household she cares about, she wants them to be happy.
"She must have looked at me and thought 'you poor little sausage'."
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Paul also spoke about the moment he told his wife and his children about his sexuality.
His voice thick with emotion, he said: "How do you as a father with two children... I love my wife, I still love my wife, I love my boys, they are the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.
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"To sit with them and talk about my sexuality and cry with them and say, 'This is your dad, I’m your dad, I'm not going to change, I’ll always be here for you.'
"I said that to my wife, I said, 'I'm your best friend. I’ll always look after you, I'll always look out for you'."
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When Holly said Maria probably wasn't looking for a best friend when she got married, she was also looking for a lover and partner for life.
Paul then hinted his former spouse may have known about his real identity as he replied: "She wanted it to be for life yes, I think she went into it with her eyes wide open.
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"She knew of me in the palace and knew my lifestyle in the palace.
"Yes I was attracted to men and she knew that but I was also attracted to women, and we had a wonderful life.
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"My golden years were marrying Maria and having our boys, I will never regret that.
"I wouldn’t want to turn the clock back and change that in any way, that’s who I am."
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