Inside Strictly star Toyah Willcox’s relationship with famous husband

Legendary new wave artist Toyah Willcox is one of the contestants on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, and the singer’s famous husband will no doubt make an appearance in the studio to cheer her on.

Toyah is married to Robert Fripp, the lead guitarist in the progressive rock band King Crimson. Robert has been known for pioneering tape delay sounds in his songs, with the resulting concept being named after him and dubbed ‘Frippertronics’. The artist is also known for his non-traditional ways of playing, including using asymmetric rhythms.

Robert has also worked with icons in the music sphere, including David Bowie, Blondie and Brian Eno.

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Toyah and Robert provided plenty of insights into their relationship. In a series they lovingly called ‘Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lunch’, the pair would perform cover versions of famous songs and also shared humorous anecdotes.

© Dave Hogan

The couple walked down the aisle on 16 May 1986 in Poole, which is in Robert’s home county of Dorset. The newly married couple initially lived in an 18th century manor house, called Reddish Manor, before ultimately settling in Pershore, Worcestershire.

The pair have been open about their decision not to welcome any children, instead leaving money in their wills to benefit musical foundations aimed at younger generations.

© Michael Ochs Archives

Speaking about their 38-year marriage to the Mirror back in February, Toyah explained: “I think we’re both very independent and because of our independent careers, we can have breathing away from each other. I would say to any couple trust and allow that in your relationships. Having these breathing space spaces, I think are really, really valuable.

“We don’t have children, we never even considered having children. Hats off to those people who do because that commitment is extraordinary. I think with us we’ve managed to remain unique and independent as well as being a couple.

© Instagram

“We both travel the world independently of each other working, and we come back together because we want to – there’s always a freshness in our marriage.”

Robert then joked: “And if for any reason I’m falling asleep on that, my wife will hide and jump back on me just to remind me of how much fun it is being together.”

Every Strictly Come Dancing winner so far

• 2004: Natisha Kaplinsky (partner Brendan Cole)
• 2004: Jill Halfpenny (partner Darren Bennett) 
• 2005: Darren Gough (partner Lilia Kopylova) 
• 2006: Mark Ramprakash (partner Karen Hardy) 
• 2007: Alesha Dixon (partner Matthew Cutler) 
• 2008: Tom Chambers (partner Camilla Dallerup) 
• 2009: Chris Hollins (partner Ola Jordan) 
• 2010: Kara Tointon (partner Artem Chigvintsev) 
• 2011: Harry Judd (partner Aliona Vilani)
• 2012: Louis Smith (partner Flavia Cacace)
• 2013: Abbey Clancy (partner Aljaž Škorjanec) 
• 2014: Caroline Flack (partner Pasha Kovalev) 
• 2015: Jay McGuiness (partner Aliona Vilani) 
• 2016: Ore Oduba (partner Joanne Clifton) 
• 2017: Joe McFadden (partner Katya Jones)
• 2018: Stacey Dooley (partner Kevin Clifton)
• 2019: Kelvin Fletcher (partner Oti Mabuse)
• 2020: Bill Bailey (partner Oti Mabuse) 
• 2021: Rose Ayling-Ellis (partner Giovanni Pernice) 
• 2022: Hamza Yassin (partner Jowita Przystał)
• 2023: Ellie Leach (partner Vito Coppola)

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