Exclusive
ALL THE LOVERS
Kylie Minogue chats turning 50, her career and says don’t rule out a wedding just yet
MOST people turn 50 with a certain degree of trepidation or even dread – but Kylie Minogue has never been most people.
The Princess of Pop has bounced back from a heartbreak- induced breakdown, found a new love and now concedes she may have been a little too hasty ruling out marriage.
14
14
Speaking for the first time since hitting the milestone, Kylie admits she does feel different as a 50-year-old.
In an exclusive interview at a Sun-backed concert in Cannes, she says honestly: “I do, do. It’s been looming.
“Yes, I’m more content. Some things have started to make sense. I mean, you accept it or you don’t. And I think the best way to accept it is with open arms.
“I say yes or no much quicker than I used to, which is probably good for everyone else as well.”
14
I suggest a large part of that happiness may be down to her three-month relationship with Paul Solomons, GQ magazine’s creative director — her first relationship since that heartbreaking split from ex-fiance Joshua Sasse. With a wave of happiness breaking over her face, Kylie answers: “I’m so happy to be back on terra firma in that sense.
“So yeah, life’s, I won’t say a little bit, I’ll say a lot, better. Life’s great. Take that as you wish.”
Kylie made headlines earlier this year when she suggested she would most likely never marry — so I wonder if her new relationship and watching the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle changed her mind at all.
She says: “I love a wedding, of course. I thought it was stunning.
14
14
14
“I mean, I had bunting up, I had the works. I really got into it, I loved it and thought it was beautiful. Everything was considered really well, with a great outcome.
“Also, I love a far more low-fi wedding. It’s a lovely thing. If it’s the right thing, it’s a lovely thing.”
And when I push her on the matter of her own decision to publicly rule out tying the knot, Kylie softens her stance. She says: “Like, I might, I might not. I did say, ‘Maybe it’s not for me.’ But the other half is maybe. I don’t know.”
14
Referring to love rat ex Sasse, she says: “It wasn’t in that last scenario. But who knows? I don’t know.
“The thing I’ve said for years and years, even when I was probably doing press at 21 years old, is that I think I’ll have a family — I don’t know if I’ll ever get married, though.
“It’s weird. I’ve done neither.”
This is the first time in a long while I’ve seen Kylie — one of my all-time favourite pop stars — this happy.
It’s clear she has embraced turning 50 and the small matter of being in love again has made a striking difference to her state of mind.
We’re talking before her sensational performance at the Cannes Lions festival in the South of France.
14
It’s 29C and I’m struggling, but the Aussie superstar is not bothered. “Horses sweat, men perspire and women glow, don’t you know that Dan?” she teases.
Evidence of Kylie’s new confidence was her decision to celebrate hitting the big Five Zero in the most public way possible, with an A-list bash in London last month. She says: “My 50th birthday was so beautiful. I don’t really do parties. I especially don’t do big parties, it’s too stressful. I just like to keep it small and easy.
“But no, we just decided to go for it. Great music, great people, great cocktails — not that I got to have one because I was busy talking, hugging, and barely got a glass to my lips.
“I got so many messages afterwards from people. Beyond saying, ‘thanks for the party’, they said, ‘If we could bottle that atmosphere... ’
14
“That’s just love and friendship and joy. It was just really amazing.”
Kylie’s tight-knit team also arranged some “epic” surprises on the night.
Revealing how she had to fight back tears at seeing her sister Dannii on screen, Kylie recalls: “The ones that really got me were my sister and brother, about halfway through, and I’m thinking, ‘Don’t go, don’t go!’”
She was also blown away by a personal message from idol Dolly Parton, revealing: “I screamed. I have no idea what she said because I was screaming and swearing in the other direction. And then I would have thought that’s it — and it finished with a message from The Muppets.
14
14
“When Rick Astley jumped on stage and then Jake Shears — put a fork in me, I’m done. It was brilliant.” The night also featured an “unbelievable” Neighbours reunion between Kylie, Guy Pearce and Jason Donovan — but no Annie Jones, who recently created headlines by returning to the Aussie soap in the iconic role of Plain Jane. Kylie says: “Yeah, no Plain Jane, but so much happened. I think I was on Cloud Nine for an entire week.
“I honestly couldn’t have had a more lovely night. It only would have been lovelier if my family had been there — they couldn’t make it.
“But there were so many people who were like family to me, it felt like they were there.
“I really got into it and loved it. it was beautiful.”
14
14
Kylie has also had professional reason to celebrate, with her country-inspired, highly emotional new album Golden — featuring the most honest lyrics of her career — seeing her return to the top of the charts for the first time in eight years.
The relief of that success is palpable, with the usually balanced star admitting “I lost my mind” when she heard the news.
She says: “I was totally elated and relieved and the gravity and importance of it started to hit me.
“It could have been a different story if I’d done things differently. If it had, I would find it really hard to imagine going to the next album. I’m not saving the planet but, you know, it takes a bit of courage to face that and take that on again.
I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY/UNLUCKY ...THE UPS AND DOWNS OF KYLIE
1986 Lands part in Aussie soap Neighbours and her marriage to co-star Jason
Donovan, whom she dated in real life, was watched by 20million viewers in the UK
1987 Became a pop sensation courtesy of her 1987 No1 I Should Be So Lucky -
a song written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman
1991 Kylie split from INXS rocker Michael Hutchence after dating for three
years. They remained pals until he died in 1997.
1994 Tried her hand at movies appearing in 1994 blockbuster alongside
Jean-Claude Van Damme
2000 Became a certified disco diva thanks to her track Spinning Around,
made famous by her wearing gold hotpants in the music video
2001 Kylie secured her biggest hit of her career Can’t Get You Out Of My
Head, selling over five million copies. It was No1 in the UK for four
weeks.
2005 Kylie was diagnosed with breast cancer aged just 35. Her illness
resulted in her postponing headlining Glastonbury
2009 Hosted the Brit Awards alongside James Corden and Mathew Horne with
her career back on track following her battle with cancer
2013 Hired as a Coach on BBC show The Voice, her biggest UK telly gig
2017 Splits from British fiance and actor Joshus Sasse after three years of dating
2018 Makes comeback with new country/pop fusion album Golden
“People really relating to the lyrics and really appreciating them, and letting me know how they work with their lives and their stories — I’m so, so touched by that. It’s really, really amazing.”
There’s a more serious side to Kylie’s new approach to life in her 50th year.
Despite how emotionally wrenching it is for her, she’s starting to open up about her battle with breast cancer in 2005.
Before flying to Cannes, she teamed up with Prince William for a Royal Marsden NHS Foundation event at Buckingham Palace.
Coronation Street's Antony Cotton describes Kylie Minogue's 50th birthday as 'one of the best parties I've been to'
Visibly shaken while talking about the event, she says: “Well, I just stopped myself before getting too emotional because, if I talk about that time and really think about it, even now I go to a different place.
“It was a very emotional night and I was so honoured to be there for that cause and I was so nervous and overwhelmed being at Buckingham Palace and in the room where they have investitures.”
Kylie admits how difficult it has been to open up about her own cancer battle, which turned her perfect life upside down 13 years ago, just weeks before she was due to headline Glastonbury.
She says: “After you have your own story and your own experience, the amount of heart you’re doing it with is more.
14
MOST READ IN SHOWBIZ
“Now I’m giving as much as I can, and I just said continued research is really important and I’m testament to research that has gone before. It was lovely — and nerve-wracking.”
Kylie is a shining example for the many women still being diagnosed with the disease, of a survivor who returned to live a full life.
She nods then says sombrely: “It did strike me that I’m there in a beautiful dress and a lovely band and life’s great. And I said something like, ‘Unfortunately people somewhere right now are being diagnosed.’
“I was that person in a hospital bed. I was that person dependent on family and friends, and research and medical teams as well. I just really brought it home and then I had to sing a few more songs, so I pulled myself back together.”
And that’s why we love Kylie. She’s the pop princess with a heart, who can still, these days, be so afraid to show her vulnerability publicly.
So with her trademark positivity, she adds: “I honestly feel like the luckiest girl.”
Kylie talks about her 30 year career in the music industry on The Graham Norton Show
Topics