British singer, Cliff Richard: Know what he said about his sexuality!

Updated On March 18, 2024 | Published By: shahid | In controversy , Sexuality

British singer and actor, Cliff Richard is a life-long bachelor. He has been never married. He has dated few women in the past. But there have always been rumors about his sexuality. And even at his age of 83 years now, these rumors continue to float and have never died down. People continue to doubt that he is gay. And in 2014, he had also faced a police investigation on it.

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Cliff Richard and his sexuality

The famous British singer and actor, Cliff Richard has been the target of innumerable rumors about his sexual orientation. Cliff has never married and has also never proposed to any girlfriend that he dated in the past, though briefly. He is a lifelong bachelor.

His first serious relationship was with Australian dancer Delia Wicks. He dated her for 18 months in early 1960s. He had written a letter to her in October 1961 where he had mentioned the reason why he decided to end his relationship with her. This letter was made public in April 2010 after Delia died due to cancer. The 3-page letter read:

“Being a pop singer I have to give up one priceless thing – the right to any lasting relationship with any special girl. I’ve just had to make, probably, one of the biggest decisions I’m ever going to make and I’m hoping that it won’t hurt you too much.”
“I couldn’t give up my career, besides the fact that my mother and sisters, since my father’s death, rely on me completely. I have showbiz in my blood now and I would be lost without it.”

The commitment phobia and sex aversion of Cliff

In 1962, Cliff had briefly dated actress Una Stubbs. Later, he had romantic feelings for dancer Jackie Irving. But he ended up not proposing to her though he wanted to marry her. Probably Cliff had commitment phobia and though he liked women, he was unable to propose and settle down with them.

In his autobiography. Cliff wrote:

“Sex is not one of the things that drives me”

But he also spoke about being seduced on seeing Carol Costa, the estranged wife of Jet Harris.

Cliff was also extremely fond of former French Open tennis champion and Wimbledon semi-finalist, Sue Barker. And in 2008, Cliff said of her:

“I seriously contemplated asking her to marry me, but in the end I realized that I didn’t love her quite enough to commit the rest of my life to her.”

Later on, Sue married Stephen Shaw but Cliff and Sue continued to be friends and had mutual respect for each other. When asked the reason of no marriage, Cliff had said:

“I’ve had a few false alarms. I’ve been in love, but marriage is a big commitment and being an artist consumes a great deal of time.”

The police investigation and Cliff’s privacy

In 2014, Cliff’s house was searched under Operation Yewtree investigation. Nothing incriminating was found there. And he was freed of any charges. On ITV’s Loose Women show, Cliff had said at that time:

“I’ve lived with questions about my sexuality for the whole of my career.”
“I always feel that I’m one of the most open people…..I don’t mind talking about things but there are things that are mine. That will go with me to my grave.”

He added:

“I don’t talk about my family because sometimes the press with the best intentions can just twist something a little bit and everyone feeling bad about it.”

Short bio on Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard is a British singer and songwriter. More bio…

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