If time really is the great leveler, then Lenny Kravitz and his unlikely path to complete celibacy might be the perfect example of oppositional views realigning over the course of many years.
Forever viewed as the archetypal rock sex-symbol, Kravitz admits he’s on a newfound spiritual journey after turning his back on stereotypical music industry excess – including casual, no strings sex.
Easier said than done of course; the Kravitz back catalogue of former girlfriends and lovers is perhaps better known than his extensive back catalogue of hits.
But at the age of 60, the celebrated musician is keen to hold back on physical intimacy until he finds the right woman – and it’s all thanks to his father’s own promiscuity.
Kravitz was heartbroken after discovering his father, NBC news producer Sy Kravitz, was having an affair while married to his actress mother Roxie Roker – a household name in the United States thanks to her starring role in The Jeffersons.
If time really is the great leveler, then Lenny Kravitz and his unlikely path to complete celibacy might be the perfect example of oppositional views realigning over the course of many years
Kravitz – whose marriage to actress Lisa Bonet (pictured) ended in 1993 – admits he emulated his father by having numerous affairs, despite being heartbroken by the infidelity of his parent
And speaking to The Guardian, Kravitz – whose own marriage to actress Lisa Bonet ended in 1993 – admits his father’s claim that he would end up doing the same thing soon became depressingly accurate.
‘He became right,’ he said. ‘After the marriage, I became more like him. I was becoming a player.
‘I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to be that guy. So I had to tackle that and it took years… by taking responsibility. Discipline. Not letting my own desires take over.’
Said discipline has led to nine-years of celibacy as he waits to find a life partner, but he admits his love of routine and predictability might hamper the search.
‘It’s a spiritual thing,’ he said of his abstinence and lifestyle. ‘I have become very set in my ways, in the way I live.’
The way he lives includes regular trips to the gym, with Kravitz – who turned 60 on May 26 – often amusing fellow fitness enthusiasts by working out in his ‘street clothes.’
The American star has also overhauled his diet, coupling healthy food with an erratic gym pattern that matches his unconventional work-out attire.
‘Well, there’s a lot of hard work and discipline in being healthy for me.,’ he explained. ‘That means when I want to eat junk, I don’t do it.
His new lifestyle includes regular trips to the gym, with Kravitz – who turned 60 on May 26 – often amusing fellow fitness enthusiasts by working out in his ‘street clothes’
Kravitz shows no significant signs of ageing and frequently shows off his toned physique on social media
‘Take last night. I worked all day, interviews, rehearsing into the night, get home at 11:00pm. I need to eat something. Now it’s 1:00am. I didn’t get my workout. So I went to the gym and I did a 90-minute workout at 2am.
‘I don’t want to be in the gym at 2:00am, but I know that I must. Because it’s part of my discipline – it’s about body, mind and spirit. I want all of those three elements aligned. If my body’s in shape and my spirit and mind are not, then it’s just something nice to look at or to boast about. Who cares?
‘For me, all of it has to be aligned. And I have to do the work it takes to have all of those in alignment so my being can be at its maximum.’
Kravitz and Bonet – with whom he welcomed daughter Zoë, now 35 and a successful actress – eloped on her 20th birthday in 1987, and they remained married until 1993, when they amicably divorced.
The singer went on to begin dating model and singer Vanessa Paradis, and they remained together until 1996.
He was subsequently engaged to both Adriana Lima and Nicole Kidman, although neither relationship progressed into a marriage.
Kravitz with ex-wife Bonet (right) and their actress daughter Zoë at the Hollywood Palladium
