Barry Manilow feared "disappointing" fans if he came out as gay � but it looks like he made it

Why Barry Manilow Kept Being Gay And Married A Secret Until Now

Barry Manilow, who for decades has kept his private and public lives separate, is opening up for the first time about his sexuality and his partner of 39 years, manager Garry Kief.

All that time, the "Looks Like We Made It" pop star was thinking about his fans, he told People, which features him on its newest cover.

"I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything,"the 73-year-old said.

But in 2015, news leaked that he and Kief(who"s president of Barry Manilow Productions and Stiletto Entertainment) had gotten married in front of a few dozenguests in a surprise ceremony at their Palm Springs estate. Manilow had managed to keep the April 2014 wedding so far off the radar it took more than a year for the media to get wind of it.

The leak, he said, was both blessing and curse, given that he"d kept his private life so very private until then even though his sexualitywas an open secret among his most loyal fans. But he needn"t have worried about the public reaction.

"When they found out that Garry and I were together, they were so happy," Manilow said. "The reaction was so beautiful strangers commenting, "Great for you!"I"m just so grateful for it."

from the archives: barry manilow knows he isn"t the coolest or the greatest, but that"s OK. He"s got "Fanilows" >>

Incidentally, it was the behavior of his "Fanilows" that had the singer worried Kief would bolt after attending a Manilow concert long ago and experiencing what the star"s world entailed.

"I got into the car with him, and [the fans] were rocking the car,"said the man behind "Mandy." "He was like, "I cant handle this. Its not for me.""

"I"m glad he stayed," Manilow said.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-entertainment-news-updates-april-barry-manilow-on-relationship-with-1491418685-htmlstory.html