Who was Gloria Gaynor married to? All about music legend’s personal life amid Kennedy Center honor

Gloria Gaynor, who was previously married to Simon Linwood until their divorce in 2005, is now going to be honored at the Kennedy Center Awards, which will take place later this year.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, President Donald Trump will host a ceremony honoring Gloria Gaynor, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford, country singer George Strait, and the legendary rock band Kiss.

Gloria Gaynor rose to fame in the 1970s and achieved commercial success with her hit single, "I Will Survive." She went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording at the 22nd Grammy Awards in 1980 for the song. She has received several honors in her illustrious career, and the Kennedy Center honor will be another noteworthy addition to that list.

More about Gloria Gaynor's personal life

Gloria Gaynor, whose real name is Gloria Fowles, was born to Queenie May Proctor and Daniel Fowles on September 7, 1943. She and her siblings were raised in New Jersey by their mother. According to Woman's World, in 1995, Gloria Gaynor suffered a loss in her personal life when her sister, Irma Proctor, was killed while trying to help another woman from an attack. Talking about the incident, Gaynor said:

"She died the way she lived and by that I mean she was always helping people. She was just that kind of person. They didn’t know each other, but they knew from just seeing each other in the neighborhood. This fellow came up and started talking to the other woman and my sister continued walking. Then she heard them yelling and when she turned around, the guy was beating the woman."

She further added:

"My sister went back to assist, and he ended up killing her. He was brought to justice. He was put in jail and when he did get out — I don’t even remember now how many years later. He didn’t serve the full sentence, but he served a lot of years."

Gloria Gaynor married Simon Linwood in 1979. Linwood worked as a New York City transit police officer, who later became her manager. The couple were married for twenty-six years until their divorce in 2005. They met through Linwood's sisters, who were background singers for Gaynor. After the couple was introduced, they instantly fell in love. In a 2009 interview with Insider Jersey, the "I am What I am" singer reminisced tabout he moment and said:

"It was a fairytale for about 20 years. We had a fairytale meeting. I was working with his sisters, who were my background singers, and we became like sisters. We met four months later and it was love at first sight"

She further added:

"It was a fairytale for about 20 years. We were actually together 30 years. We went together five years and things were going fine, then little by little things started to change. I was married a lot longer than he was . . . Let's just say we just grew apart."

Despite her divorce, Gaynor expressed that she still believed in the concept of marriage, adding that she had not set boundaries for herself from the beginning. She said:

I don't blame marriage. I do understand and appreciate the institution of marriage and I can look back and say I gave my all to the marriage and that it (ending) wasn't my fault. If anything, I was not setting up boundaries for myself. He was very controlling. I'd wonder, "Where do you end and I begin?'"

In a 2023 interview with People Magazine, Gaynor reflected on the moment she finally decided to get a divorce, explaining that despite her suffering from a migraine for several days, her then husband showed no concern for her well-being. She said:

"I said, 'OK, I'm done. You really, truly don't care about me, and I'm done.' I'd have to be freakin' comatose not to get that. My friend nailed it when she said it was disregard. You don't know how painful that can be until you experience it. [Leaving him] was extremely liberating."

Gloria Gaynor added more about her personal life, saying that she always wanted to have children, but her husband did not. She said:

"[l] swallowed whatever he said and did whatever he said and just let him have his way."

In the interview, she also highlighted that despite her tumultuous marriage, she still believed in love and was open to whatever the future held. She said:

"I absolutely believe in love. Whether it's in the cards for me, I sincerely doubt it, 'cause I'm truly not interested anymore. If it happens, it happens. If not, I'm good. It's a wonderful place to be."

Gloria Gaynor had previously shared in an interview with Closer Weekly that she had decided to see a therapist after her divorce in 2005. She added that the reason for doing so was that she did not want to carry the baggage of her relationship with Simon Linwood into her next relationship. She said:

"Right after my divorce, I decided to go to a therapist because I didn't want to take any baggage into another relationship. It was wonderful learning from my therapist, who has since become a friend. I grew up without a father, and there is an organization that helps young absentee fathers learn how important it is to be involved in their children's lives whether they live with them or not. In 2024, I plan to work with them to be the voice of abandoned daughter."

Gloria Gaynor had previously endured another challenging moment in her personal life when she fell on stage while performing. She was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down but later recovered through proper physical therapy and exercises.