THE WRAP-UP
THE FORMER NAUGHTY BOY IS NOW A ROLEMODEL DAD!
Children made Robbie a better man; James changes his tune; Idris’ public proposal
Becoming a father has made pop star Robbie Williams a better man. The British singer, known for his wild ways in his younger days, was in New Zealand last week for two shows in Auckland and Dunedin, and says he’s changed since he and his wife Ayda had daughter Teddy (5) and son Charlie (3).
“Everything is about them,” says Robbie. “Before I was just wandering around the planet having an existential crisis about everything. You know… ‘Why is this happening? I’m in a stadium and there’s the people and the records and the houses and the cars – why am I so sad?’ The archetypal bulls*** pop-star stuff.
“Then the kids come and right, it’s about them. Daddy goes to work and Daddy’s got a great job. Let’s not worry about it too much, let’s go and provide for them. Everything has changed.”
The Angels singer, who celebrated his 44th birthday here last week without his family, reckons Teddy is likely to follow in his footsteps. “Teddy is an absolute performer. She writes melodies, she’s learning to play the piano. Wherever we are at any given moment, if there is music on, the world is her audience. She’s been doing this since day dot.
“She’ll do some ballet moves, then she’ll make up a song and she’ll coquettishly look over her shoulder to see if the table next door is looking at her. My son, on the other hand, is flinging s*** at walls.”
Robbie and actress Ayda (38) try to keep their children out of the limelight. They have never included them in interviews or photoshoots and the only pictures they post of the kids on social media are ones in which their faces can’t be seen. But if Teddy does want to perform with her dad one day, Robbie concedes that will change.
“Right now, they’ve got their anonymity. But the minute you put her on stage and go ‘This is my daughter,’ it sets the hounds free. We are trying to figure out what the best thing is for them and, for the moment, we’re keeping them sheltered. But I would love one day to walk off-stage and let my daughter do two songs while I have a cup of tea.”
And while Robbie is very happy with two children, he admits there could be another one if Ayda gets her way. “I don’t want a third but I’m not in control of these decisions. The biggest life decisions, like where to place Angels in the set list, that’s me. But when we bring another life into the world, that’s not me. But we probably will be having another one, God willing.”