Paul O’Grady was married to Teresa Fernandes for 28 years (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
Paul O’Grady’s former wife Teresa Fernandes has spoken for the first time since the Lily Savage star’s death aged 67.
The Blankety Blank host died ‘unexpectedly but peacefully’ on March 28 in his ‘own bed’ with his husband Andre Portasio beside him.
The For the Love of Dogs star’s funeral was held in Kent this week and was attended by his friends, family and fans, including his daughter Sharon Mousley, Alan Carr and Jo Brand.
O’Grady’s ex-wife Teresa, who said she was unable to attend the wake because it was ‘too far to travel’, paid tribute to him on Saturday, describing him as a ‘very special, close friend of mine.’
‘We probably enjoyed one of the longest marriages in showbiz,’ she joked.
Teresa, 73, who lives in Hampstead, London, married O’Grady in a small registry office in 1977 and divorced him nearly three decades later.
O’Grady with his daughter Sharon and his grandchild (Picture: Sims/REX/Shutterstock)
Remembering O’Grady she told the Daily Mail: ‘Paul was a very special, close friend of mine, but we didn’t really love each other.
‘I was lesbian and he was gay so the marriage would never have worked but we had a great time as friends and even though it was almost 50 years ago I have great memories’
The retired barmaid continued: ‘Of course I was sad when I heard Paul had died, he was always a good friend but I hadn’t seen him since the early 1980s.
O’Grady first shot to fame with his Lily Savage act (Picture: Fremantle Media/Shutterstock)
‘We just drifted apart at around the time he started to get famous, but I didn’t go to the funeral because it’s too far for me to travel.’
O’Grady previously said his marriage to the Portuguese former model was one ‘of convenience’ and had wed her to save her from being deported.
‘Teresa, I call her the lesbian Portuguese barmaid, was lovely. She looked like David Cassidy,’ he explained in a previous interview.
O’Grady previously said their marriage was for ‘convenience’ (Picture: Shutterstock)
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‘We worked in a club in Westbourne Grove, London, when I was 22. She was from a very strict Catholic family and was always being hassled by them: “Why aren’t you getting married?” So I said: “Come on then, we’ll get married”, and we did.
O’Grady admitted that he forgot they were married until 28 years later when they divorced.
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‘I had no idea we were still married until my manager Brendan said: ‘If anything happened to you, everything would go to your wife”,’ he explained.
‘It’s like a real-life Corrie storyline.’
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They were married for nearly three decades.