Latest news with #SoMacho
Perth Now
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Sinitta had 'reason to live' after she adopted her children
Sinitta "had a reason to live" when she adopted her children. The 61-year-old singer "wanted to curl up in a ball and shut the world out" after she suffered miscarriages and three failed attempts of IVF - a common procedure where eggs are fertilised with sperm in a laboratory and then an embryo is put in the womb to help women get pregnant. However, Sinitta thinks her previous heartbreaks were meant to be, as her world turned joyous when she and her ex-husband Andy Willner welcomed Zac, 19, and Magdalena, 18, into their lives in 2007. She told OK! magazine: "As I get older, I do tend to reflect on the sad things that happened in the past. "Back then, I had pushed all the painful things to the back of my mind. I think, what would have happened if I'd had those children that I lost through miscarriage - I then wouldn't have had Zac and Magdalena. "When you go through something like a miscarriage, it's all so consuming. It was hard to breathe, I wanted to curl up in a ball and shut the world out. "The day I adopted my kids, I had a reason to live. "It's not the British way to talk about things." The 'Toy Boy' hitmaker confessed she felt "too scared" to share her true feelings when people asked how Sinitta was doing after she lost a child. But now, Sinitta thinks it is easier to open up because people are more "prepared" to talk about mental health. She said: "When people would ask me how I was, I would just say, 'Oh, I'm fine.' "You're too scared to tell the truth and say, 'Well, as a matter of fact, I've just lost a child.' "Nowadays, people are prepared to discuss mental health, they are much more understanding that we don't all live perfect lives." And the 'So Macho' pop star said it was an "extraordinary" moment when she and Andy went to collect Zac and Magdalena. Sinitta recalled: "It was extraordinary. "I spent months filling out all these forms, going to interviews. Then, because they were so young, we were immediately given a date to pick them up. "I met them two weeks before I walked out with them in my arms. It felt very strange - as if I were stealing children."
Perth Now
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Simon Cowell 'sobbed down the phone' to Sinitta after Liam Payne's death
Simon Cowell was "absolutely devastated" by the death of Liam Payne, according to his close friend Sinitta. The One Direction singer passed away at the age of 31 last October after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the 'So Macho' hitmaker - who first met Liam when he auditioned for 'The X Factor' at the age of 14 - has reflected on the moment she heard the news about the tragedy. Sinitta told OK!: "On the night it happened I had gone to bed early but left my phone on in the other room. I kept hearing it clicking with new messages. In the morning, I saw the messages and was in complete shock. I literally couldn't speak. It was like living through a nightmare." The 61-year-old star contacted her former partner Cowell and admits that his heartbroken reaction has remained in her mind ever since. Sinitta recalled: "He was absolutely devastated. I hadn't heard him so upset since his mum died. He sobbed down the phone to me. He couldn't contain his emotions - it was hard to know what to say to him." The star explained that she "couldn't stop thinking" about Liam's former partner Cheryl and the couple's son Bear, eight, when she heard about his passing. She said: "All I could think about was Cheryl and Bear." Sinitta explained that she still thought of Liam as a "little boy" after meeting him as a teenager - two years before he was put together with his One Direction bandmates on the 2010 series of the reality show and propelled to global fame. She said: "To me, he was still that little boy who made it all the way to Barbados (for Judges' Houses) because he was determined to be on the show. "Simon and I loved him and begged him to come back. He did - and ended up being the lead singer in One Direction. You never expect anyone younger than you to suddenly die." Cowell, 65, attended Liam's funeral and consoled his parents Karen and Geoff and Sinitta felt that the act was testament to the character of a man she has known for more than 40 years. She said: "It was very brave of him to be able to go the funeral and comfort Liam's parents."
Daily Mirror
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Sinitta's heartache - 'I wanted to shut the world out'
80s pop icon Sinitta opens up about her new lease of life at 61 – from surviving devastating miscarriages and finding joy in adoption her now teenage twins, and falling in love again Pop star Sinitta, currently playing the formidable Mama Morton in Chicago The Musical , shot to fame as part of Stock Aitken Waterman's hit factory in the 80s. Becoming a household name with hits like So Macho, Toy Boy and GTO – she was Simon Cowell 's first recording star. In 2002, she married Andy Willner and after four months suffered multiple miscarriages followed by three failed attempts of IVF. In 2007, she adopted her two children, Zac and Magdalena, now 18. Here, Sinitta, 61, opens up exclusively to OK! about how the love of her children helped her through dark days, comforting Simon the day they heard the devastating news of the death of Liam Payne, and her new mystery man… Hi, Sinitta! You've got an exciting new role in Chicago. Now that your kids are teens, were you keen to return to your first love of musical theatre? Absolutely. I've turned down a lot of theatre jobs over the past few years. It just didn't feel fair to adopt two children, then be at the theatre every night. I would have missed out on bedtimes and bath times and their day-to-day life. I had such a difficult road to motherhood in the first place that I was determined to be there for them every morning. Now they're 18, they hardly have time for me. They are off doing their own thing, I guess just like I did when I was their age. So, I felt like I needed to get back to the work I adore – musical theatre. The very place I first started my career. Do you remember the day you brought Zac and Magdalena home for the very first time? It was extraordinary. I spent months filling out forms, going to interviews. Then suddenly, because they were very young, we were immediately given a date to pick them up. I met them two weeks before I walked out with them in my arms. It felt very strange, surreal – as if I were a stranger stealing children. They told me not to drive, in case I got disoriented having them in the car for the first time. They were right, because I nearly drove down a one-way street the wrong way. It goes without saying, it was a beautiful day and one I will never, ever forget. That must have been ex tra special, after your previous heartbreak trying to have a baby? As I get older, I do tend to reflect on the sad things that happened in the past. Back then, I just pushed all the painful things to the back of my mind. I think, what would have happened if I had had those children that I lost through miscarriage? I then wouldn't have had Zac and Magdalena. So, I do think about that because when you go through something like a miscarriage it's so all-consuming at the time. Was it one of the most difficult moments in your life? Oh, it was hard to breathe. I wanted to curl up in a ball and shut the world out – so perhaps it's only natural those thoughts come back to haunt you, later. The day I adopted my kids I had a reason to live. It's not the British way to talk about things. When people asked how I was, I'd say, 'Oh, I'm fine.' You're too scared to say, well, as a matter of fact, I've just lost a child – in case people are horrified. Nowadays, it's different because people are prepared to discuss mental health. They are more understanding that we don't all live perfect lives. You first met Liam Payne on The X Factor when he first auditioned at the age of 14. Can you tell us about hearing the sad news of his death? On the night it happened I had gone to bed early but left my phone on in the other room. I kept hearing it clicking with new messages. In the morning, I saw the messages and was in complete shock. I literally couldn't speak. It was like living through a nightmare. To me, he was still that little boy who made it all the way to Barbados [for The X Factor 's Judges' Houses] because he was determined to be on the show. Simon and I loved him and begged him to come back when he was 16 – which he did and ended up being the lead singer in One Direction. You never expect anyone younger than you to suddenly die. All I could think about was Cheryl [Tweedy, Liam's ex-girlfriend] and Bear [Liam's son with Cheryl]. Did you speak to Simon that day? Later that day I reached out to Simon, and he was absolutely devastated. I hadn't heard him so upset since his mum died. He sobbed down the phone to me. He couldn't contain his emotions – it was hard to know what to say to him. It was very brave of him to be able to go to the funeral and comfort Liam's parents. You made your name in the 1980s. How do you look back on your first single, So Macho, shooting to the top of the charts? I recently starred in Now That's What I Call A Musical – all set in the 1980s, so I play myself. I dragged out all my original costumes, the white plaits (because my mother wouldn't allow me to bleach my hair!). All that made me think back to those early days. It was an extremely happy time in my life. I loved the innocence of that era. We didn't think the single would sell the way it did – but people were pre-ordering it at record shops, so Simon had to find another pressing plant to press more records overnight. In the end, we got to No2 in the charts and stayed there for weeks. In 1985, in your early twenties, you starred with David Essex in the musical Mutiny. You went on to have an 18-month romance with him, didn't you? It was amazing. That was my breakout part. I was sharing the stage with West End royalty. And yes, David and I grew close and started dating. When I was young, all I dreamed of was doing musical films like Grease and Fame. When I first met Simon, I was doing Little Shop Of Horrors , and he came to see me in it – he became fascinated with musical theatre. We know you have a new man in your life, too. Are you happy? I am in a happy place. I'd been happily single for eight years. In a way, lockdown was a blessing as I got to know myself and missed having a partner. I'd go walking and think, this would be nice if I had someone to walk beside me. So I joined some dating apps, which was a disaster because some blokes just thought I was a 'fake' Sinitta. Then I met someone lovely – but didn't immediately think was right for me as he wasn't my usual type. But that was part of the magic. He's a lovely, normal person who makes me laugh. So, at last I think, I have found someone I can love.
