Iman has spoken about her marriage to David Bowie and all of the times they nearly met before their were finally set up by friends on a blind date.
The supermodel, 70, said that meeting the late singer was her ‘destiny’ as she recalled meeting during the ‘most romantic’ night together.
Before that, Iman revealed that she had attended his concerts and had meant to go backstage to meet the star but it never ended up happening.
During an interview with Elle Spain, Iman was asked whether she thought herself and David, who she was with up until his death age 69 in 2016, were ‘meant to be’.
She said: ‘Without a doubt. The first time I attended one of his concerts was in New York in 1976. I was invited backstage to say hello, but I didn’t, and whenever he played there, I would always go see him, although I never got to meet him.
In 1990, I moved to California to get some distance; I felt like I wanted to do nothing and think about what I wanted to do next. A week later, I met a photographer who introduced me to a hairstylist, who was David’s hairstylist, although I didn’t know it.
Iman has spoken about her marriage to David Bowie and all of the times they nearly met before their were finally set up by friends on a blind date
The supermodel, 70, said that meeting the late singer was her ‘destiny’ as she recalled meeting during the ‘most romantic’ night together
Before that, Iman revealed that she had attended his concerts and had meant to go backstage to meet the star but it never ended up happening (Iman and David in 2009)
‘We became friends, and he was the person who set up the blind date, disguising it as a birthday party. David just happened to be in Los Angeles that week for a concert… So, yes, he was my destiny. It just had to be.’
The couple met in 1990 and were married in 1992. They had two wedding ceremonies, a private one in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 24, 1992, and a formal ceremony in Florence, Italy, on June 6, 1992.
Detailing their first meeting, she said: ‘On a blind date, well, it wasn’t really one, we were supposed to go to a birthday party that turned out to be a dinner for four with David, his hairdresser, who was a friend of mine, his boyfriend and me.’
When asked if the dinner went well – which of course it did – she said: ‘Yes. The most romantic part of the night was when David and I were walking down the street, my shoelaces came undone and he knelt down to tie them for me (sighs).’
The model hasn’t remarried since David died from liver cancer. The couple had been married for 23 years.
Iman opened up in 2022 about how she refuses to refer to the music icon as her ‘late’ husband and discussed her difficulties over finding space to grieve privately after he died.
She was married to David from 1992 until 2016 and the couple had one daughter together, Alexandria Zahra Jones, 22.
Speaking about how she has adjusted six years on from his death Iman told Vogue: ‘He is not my “late husband”. He is my husband. I don’t mind at all being referred to as “David Bowie’s wife”. But I always remind people that I existed before I met him.
During an interview with Elle Spain , Iman was asked whether she thought herself and David, who she was with up until his death age 69 in 2016, were ‘meant to be’.
‘And he was also very particular. He never introduced me by saying, “Meet my wife.” He’d always say, “Meet Iman, my wife.” So we both already had our own identity. We were separate but together.’
On finding the space to grieve privately after his death, she added: ‘It was too much. Too much. We lived a very private life and suddenly it felt like there was a target on mine and my daughter’s head.
‘It got to the point where we had to leave our home [in New York City] because the public were always at the front door. Which I admire. I get it. But there was a point where it was like: “OK, go home now.”
‘You had people who would take your picture, sell it and then come to you and say, “I feel your pain,” ‘ she continued. ‘And, I’m like, “No, b***h, you don’t feel my pain, get away from me.” ‘
As for what the future might bring she went on to say: ‘I think of myself now as a mum and grandma first…that’s my place in life.
‘I can’t really wear heels anymore. I know my limitations.’
The star told PEOPLE magazine that it was ‘love at first sight’ when she met David on a blind date in Los Angeles years ago and still feels his presence after all this time.
‘David said it was love at first sight,’ she said of their connection. ‘It took me a few months but I got there.’
She added: ‘I knew him as the man, David Jones, his real name, and not the rock star.’
