The worst time was at the beginning, the best is now
work has been very stressful for the singers but Sebastien says it’s actually brought the foursome closer together and things are running much more smoothly than they were in the beginning.
‘We were not so close with each other at the very beginning because we were thrown into an arranged marriage,’ Sebastien says.
‘I would say it took time for us to get to know each other and get along with each other.
‘We all came from successful careers, there was a big gap as English wasn’t our first language at all.
‘And I think what is funny about the whole thing is the worst time was at the beginning and the best is now. We know each other perfectly, we have each other’s backs. A lot of bands are the other way around — they actually fight when money comes into it but we are really enjoying this now.’
Sebastien lives with his wife Renée and their three children, ten-year-old twins Rose and Luca, and Jude who is now seven, in California.
But the demands of touring can be difficult when you have three young children.
‘Home for me is basically out of my suitcase right now,’ Sebastien jokes. ‘I live just outside LA now. When you have kids I find that it is a pretty amazing place to live and I am really glad that I made the move.’
Sebastien clearly adores his family and when he is at home, he makes sure he spends as much time with his children as possible. He’s a very hands-on dad.
But now that the new record is about to come out and there is such a packed schedule for Il Divo this summer, Sebastien is trying to find the balance between work and home life.
‘It’s not simple but, you know, we somehow make it work,’ he says. ‘My children come and visit me when they have holidays from school. We have three kids and we try to make it work.
‘It’s not always easy but, thank goodness, now we have face time and we talk regularly. It is also very important to me But that’s what it is and we have to try and work things out.’
‘The kids try to understand. My wife is very supportive of me as she worked in a record label before so she kind of knows the drill.
‘I wouldn’t say it is that simple for the kids. They want their daddy. And it is hard when they are sometimes telling me ‘I really want you here. I miss you please come back.’
‘But on the other hand they understand that’s what Daddy does. So we do try to find the balance and get times when they can come out to me and see their daddy.’
Meanwhile, there’s nothing else for it but to get on with performing all over the world to audiences of adoring fans. So at this stage are women still falling at the feet of Il Divo? It would seem so.
‘We are very lucky. It’s a very tough job to be adored by women, isn’t it?’ Sebastien says, laughing. ‘No, really we are very fortunate we love what we do and we love making people happy at our shows, both men and women!’
O Il Divo play the Trinity College Summer Series in Dublin on July 24. Tickets are available now from ticketmaster.ie The new Il Divo album Timeless will be released on August 10 on Universal Music’s Decca Gold label.
We know each other perfectly, we have each other’s backs