David Byrne confirmed he married his billionaire fiancée Mala Gopal Gaonkar in September after nearly a decade of dating.
At 73, the former Talking Heads frontman is 18 years older than the SurgoCap Partners founder, but they’ve been inseparable since being introduced by mutual friend Brian Eno.
‘I said I would never get married again, after I got divorced,’ Byrne told the New Yorker on Monday.
‘We’d have these long walks and talks — the subjects ranged all over the place. And I thought, wow, this person’s really different from a lot of my other friends. And I would like to do this again.’
The silver-haired grandfather-of-two continued: ‘It was just working out really well, so we said, “Well, let’s do this for our friends and family.”‘
Byrne – who’s only an Emmy away from EGOT status – further mused on the subject of love: ‘When it happens, you really feel like you’re a different person. You feel different physically. It’s this amazing thing.’
David Byrne confirmed he married his billionaire fiancée Mala Gopal Gaonkar in September after nearly a decade of dating (pictured in 2023)
The Scottish-born, Maryland-raised musician first hinted he was planning on tying the knot with Gaonkar the week of September 3.
‘I’m getting married this week and made an almost entirely instrumental playlist while our guests eat an amazing and spicy dinner,’ Byrne – who boasts 1.2M social media followers – announced via Instastory.
‘My sense is that words and lyrics can be distracting – the ear goes to them, especially if it’s a song one know. So, I opted for buoyant instrumentals that will create a hopeful and joyous atmosphere… and that folks can also ignore at the same time.’
The Everybody Laughs singer and the American-born, Indian-raised investor co-created theatre performance NEUROSOCIETY at Stanford Arts Institute in 2016, and they teamed up again in 2022 to create the immersive Theater of the Mind.
Byrne confirmed to The Times on August 16 that he was engaged to Gaonkar, whose ‘greasy’ skincare routine inspired his new track Moisturizing Thing.
The Twits actor previously welcomed 36-year-old daughter Malu during his 17-year marriage to costume designer and artist Adelle Lutz, which ended in 2004.
At 73, the former Talking Heads frontman is 18 years older than the SurgoCap Partners founder, but they’ve been inseparable since being introduced by mutual friend Brian Eno (pictured in 2022)
Byrne told the New Yorker on Monday: ‘I said I would never get married again, after I got divorced. It was just working out really well, so we said, “Well, let’s do this for our friends and family”‘ (pictured October 28)
The silver-haired grandfather-of-two first hinted he was planning on tying the knot with Gaonkar the week of September 3
Byrne – who’s only an Emmy away from EGOT status – and the American-born, Indian-raised investor co-created theatre performance NEUROSOCIETY at Stanford Arts Institute in 2016, and they teamed up again in 2022 to create the immersive Theater of the Mind (pictured in 2024)
The Everybody Laughs singer previously welcomed 36-year-old daughter Malu (M, pictured in 2022) during his 17-year marriage to costume designer and artist Adelle Lutz, which ended in 2004
Gaonkar previously welcomed two sons during her marriage to Searchlight Capital Partners founding partner Oliver Haarmann (pictured in 2016)
The German 58-year-old has been dating Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon (pictured last Thursday) for a year and a half, and they were last pictured packing on the PDA aboard a yacht in Saint-Tropez on July 13
Byrne is next scheduled to bring his 68-date Who is the Sky world tour to the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA on November 11-13 (pictured October 25)
The Tate trustee previously welcomed two sons during her marriage to Searchlight Capital Partners founding partner Oliver Haarmann.
The German 58-year-old has been dating Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon for a year and a half, and they were last pictured packing on the PDA aboard a yacht in Saint-Tropez on July 13.
Byrne – who still gets 1M monthly listeners on Spotify – is next scheduled to bring his 68-date Who is the Sky world tour to the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA on November 11-13.
