Barry Manilow Credits Husband Garry For Keeping Him Humble After Finding Fame

Grammy award-winning pop singer Barry Manilow and husband Garry Kief have one of the most enduring (and heartwarming) relationships in all of entertainment. Manilow and Kief became a couple in 1978, when the former was still relatively early into his decades-long music career. Tragically, the two had to keep their relationship a secret for many years, owing to the social stigma surrounding same-sex couples. Times fortunately changed, and Manilow finally married Kief in a private 2014 ceremony before publicly coming out as gay in 2017. Of course, this revelation hardly shook the world, given that Manilow's relationship with Kief had long been something of an open secret. Indeed, the two have stood by one another since the late '70s, which wasn't hard to pull off, given that Kief also became Manilow's manager around that time. Not only that, but Manilow has even gone as far as to credit his now-husband with keeping him grounded after his career took off.

Speaking of things that aren't exactly secrets, you've no doubt heard about certain people becoming more rude and entitled in real life as their fame exploded. And according to Manilow during a 2023 interview with People, he found himself going down that road at one point. Luckily, however, he had Kief to help pull him towards a better path. "When [I found success], my life exploded into a million pieces, and it took me a long time to pull it all back together again. ... I just was not prepared. I was rude to people. I was an a**hole. One of the big events for me that pulled me together was meeting Garry," he said. "Having somebody like that grounds you. Suddenly I wasn't all alone in this crazy world."

Although Barry Manilow and husband Garry Kief have been married for 12 years and together for about 48 at the time of this writing, you certainly would not think it's been that long based on how Manilow talks about their relationship. During a March 2026 interview with People, the singer shared how he and his husband "still laugh, and we don't get bored with each other." He further explained that Kief is always right there with him when it comes time to embark on tour. "He doesn't want to be without me, and I'm very grateful that he still wants to go on the road with me, because it's much better being home," he said.

And why shouldn't the two always want to be together? After all, according to Manilow, having Kief in his life not only stopped him from giving into some of fame's worst tendencies, it outright "saved [his] life." While appearing on CNN's "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace" (via The Guardian) back in 2023, the "Copacabana" singer explained how the self-destructive tendencies that sometimes come with fame are often born out of boredom and loneliness — two things he no longer had to experience.

"As my career exploded, it was just crazy. And, you know, going back to an empty hotel room, you can get into a lot of trouble if you, you know, you're alone night after night after night," Manilow said. "But I met Garry right around when it was exploding. And I didn't have to go back to those empty hotel rooms. I had somebody to cry with or to celebrate with," he continued. And he hopes young celebrities are similarly able to find some sort of alternative.