Barry Manilow Reportedly 'Marries' His Longtime Male Lover — 'It Was A Total Surprise'
April 8 2015, Updated 10:44 a.m. ET
Barry Manilow has secretly married his longtime partner!
The "Copacabana" crooner said "I do" to Garry Kief, his manager and the president of Barry Manilow Productions, an insider revealed to The National ENQUIRER.
Around 50 guests attended the intimate ceremony after they were led to believe they were invited to lunch at the couple's multi-million dollar Palm Springs mansion.
"It was a total surprise. When they arrived they were told it was a wedding!" a source close to the 71-year-old told The ENQUIRER.
"Barry has lived a very secretive life and the wedding was no different! Barry and Garry did not tell friends or family that the occasion was their wedding," the insider explained. "It was a beautiful wedding and consummated their lifelong love affair."
But the happy duo did not file the paperwork to formalize their union out of fear the big news would leak, sources said.
"Barry is paranoid that his fans would not approve of him being gay, when in reality, many have suspected it for years — and most wouldn't care," the source said. "They would be happy for him!"
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Longtime friend and Palm Springs neighbor Suzanne Somers was the best man, and Marc Hulett — Manilow's assistant since the 1980s — performed the "commitment ceremony" after he registered online to become a minister.
The dramatic development in the "Mandy" hitmaker's personal life ends the constant speculation — is he, or isn't he gay — that has followed him for his entire adult life.
In a little known secret, Manilow had a brief marriage — to a woman — in the late '60s, but he hadn't dated anyone for years, publicly at least.
Fans recently began speculating that he might have married when he performed on stage wearing his wedding band.
For more on this story, pick up the latest issue of The National ENQUIRER, on newsstands now.