Exclusive: Martin and Shirlie Kemp on pressures of fame, family life with son Roman and harmonious holidays
Martin andShirlie Kempknow a thing or two about navigating life in the public eye. The couple have been household names since their heyday in the 1980s when Martin, 63, was bassist for New Romantic-era group Spandau Ballet and Shirlie, 62, was a dancer for Wham! and one-half of pop duo Pepsi & Shirlie.
The husband and wife, who married in 1988, are well-equipped when it comes to fame, but that doesn't mean that they weren't somewhat concerned when their youngest, Roman, 31, started carving out a career in the entertainment industry.
Chatting with HELLO! in an exclusive interview as part of easyJet holidays' new campaignabout holidaying and keeping the romantic spark alive,the former EastEnders actor opened up about his initial worries for his son who has enjoyed huge success as a television presenter and radio DJ.
"Fame is a difficult thing to cope with full stop and you have to get your head around it," Martin began.
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"It's something that I worried about with Roman when he was younger, going into the same industry [as us]. It's a difficult thing, but Roman's got his feet on the ground, and I'm really happy for him."
Shirlie echoed the sentiment adding: "I think there's so much pressure [on young people in the public eye] and there's so much cruelty with social media. Everybody who's on social media has also got their opinion about you."
The couple, who are also parents to their eldest, Harley Moon, who has formed a career as a singer, clearly have a great relationship with their two kids and, according to Martin, no topic is off limits.
This is obvious when watching the father-son duo's hilarious antics on Celebrity Gogglebox or listening to their successful podcast titled 'FFS! My dad is Martin Kemp'.
"Me and Shirlie have a relationship with the kids where we talk about anything and everything," Martin told HELLO!. "There's nothing that can embarrass us, we will only find the fun in things. And our podcast is close to the knuckle sometimes but it's just meant to be fun.
"[The podcast] has taken off and it's incredible. How you can put it… it's like X-rated Gogglebox."
Shirlie and Martin's home renovation journey
As for their home life, Shirlie and Martin have an army of fans who have been following every step of their renovation journey over the last three years since they bought a "doer-upper" Victorian home.
The couple gutted the house and garden completely and transformed it into a home they had always dreamed of.
And it seems they have more than achieved that dream: "We took an old house that was completely run down, and we knocked every single wall and ceiling down that you can imagine and we rebuilt something that would be perfect for us. That is what we have now and what we're doing now is just finishing touches.
"That was always something that we spoke about when we were moving from house to house. We tried new houses and old houses, but we always said we'd love to find something we could do from scratch. And that is what happened, that was the ultimate dream."
Shirlie and Martin's tips for rekindling their romantic spark
Martin and Shirlie were chatting to HELLO! as part of a campaign with easyJet holidays, helping other couples keep their spark alive and vacationing harmoniously.
The pair explained how holidaying just the two of them helps them feel like their old selves.
As the musician-turned-DJ explained: "What you find is when your kids grow up and they leave home, you become boyfriend and girlfriend again. You go back to the beginning and back to how you used to be."
Shirlie revealed how to keep the fire burning, particularly while travelling: "I also think you should always buy yourself something new to wear on holiday because you then go out for dinner and you'll say: 'You look nice'."
As for holidaying harmoniously, Shirlie says it's all in the planning and delegation. "I try and make sure I've organised everything smoothly because Martin's not the one who's bothered about it. He just trusts that I'm going to sort it out, so I become the tour manager. I normally book restaurants ahead before I get there, and I'll do my research wherever we go. I think research is key.
"You need one of you who says 'You sort it out and I'm just going to go with it', I like organising it all."
Martin & Shirlie Kemp partner with easyJet holidays to help parents rekindle their romantic spark, no matter how old the kids are. Visit www.easyjet.com/en/holidays to book your 2024/2025 package holiday at the best value.
