14 DAY TRIAL // Last year, the Gavin Rossdale – Gwen Stefani marriage was shook to the core when a British rocker claimed he had a 5-year affair with Gavin back in the ‘80s. In the latest issue of Details, Rossdale confirms it – and explains his initial denial.
News of the affair first broke in Boy George’s 1995 book “Take It Like a Man” but both Marilyn, the alleged lover, and Gavin denied it, saying they were and had always been just friends.
Last year, Marilyn went to the US tabloids, saying he only lied because Gavin had asked him and that he felt the time had come for him to speak the truth: namely that they had been in a 5-year affair.
Initially, Rossdale’s rep denied the claims, with many believing it may have had something to do with the fact that the revelation came short on the heels of Courtney Love’s claims of an affair.
Gavin’s brand new interview with Details now sets the record straight, confirming the affair (though it didn’t last 5 years) and explaining his initial denial.
Asked why he denied claims of an affair with the cross-dressing rocker / pop star, Gavin says he couldn’t afford to speak out on them at the time because of his career.
“I think at the outset there was a sort of fear – that was right at the beginning of Bush, and I didn’t want it to be part of it. It felt like a cheap shot, so I was like, ‘I’m not getting involved’,” the rocker explains.
The intention was to dodge the subject altogether, but never to appear as if he was refusing to speak about it because he had something to hide, he says.
“I’ve never wanted to appear closed about it. It’s not something I’ve talked about really because it’s always been in the glare of a tabloid world,” Gavin adds.
Then again, it’s not like there was really something newsworthy to tell: he was young and he experimented and that was that.
“It’s just one of those things: Move on. When you’re 17, Jesus Christ. I don’t think there’s anything strange about any form of – you’re learning about life. It’s a part of growing up. That’s it. No more, no less,” Rossdale explains.
In other words, it was just a one-time thing that helped Gavin sort some things out, he say for Details.
“Yeah. That was it. You have to know what you like, and I know what I like,” Gavin adds.
For the full interview with Gavin Rossdale, see the Details piece here.