‘I loved turning 50 – I was just happy I got there’ The Dreams singer discusses romance, her dramatic weight loss before appearing on The Masked Singer, and embracing her age
She wowed the nation on The Masked Singer earlier this year, making it to the semi-finals with her beautiful renditions of
Harry Styles and Rihanna songs, before revealing herself to be Harlequin.
Yet the identity of the show’s competitors is so shrouded in secrecy – with the stars forbidden from telling anyone they’re on it, and even the majority of the production team not knowing who they are – that singer Gabrielle admits it caused tensions with her nearest and dearest.
The 51-year-old tells Closer, “My best friend and I aren’t that close at the moment – I think she’s still dealing with the drama of me having avoided her like the plague so I didn’t spill the beans!
“Only my son [Jordan, 26] knew I was doing the show. I had to tell him where
I was going, because he had to look after his little sister. I didn’t even tell my own mother, so that says a lot.”
SHAPING UP
The singer admits she also struggled with the restrictive “hot and heavy” costumes, and even threatened to quit after becoming claustrophobic.
But her hard work and dedication began even before she entered the competition. The 5ft 4 star admits she lost almost 1½st in preparation for it, after putting it on during lockdown.
She says, “Like many people, I was fully enjoying bottles of alcoholic beverages, overindulging in food and being an absolute couch potato. I’d put on too much weight and it had to stop. I dropped 20lbs in September in preparation for The Masked Singer – although, in hindsight, I could have kept in on because I was so hidden under the costume!
“All I did to lose the extra pounds was cut out alcohol and takeaways and replace it with eating some porridge in the morning with blueberries, then having protein and salad.
“I didn’t even really go walking or running – it was just [lowering] my intake, so that goes to show the power of food. I lost almost 1½st, so it shows just how big I’d got.
“My son is extremely active and is always working out, so he keeps threatening to train me. He’s built his own home gym, so maybe now I can take him up on his offer.”
Gabrielle grew up in Hackney, London, and is a proud mum to Jordan and daughter Patricia, 18. She has never married and, when asked, remains coy about her romantic life. However, unlike fellow singer Louise Redknapp – who recently revealed she was “ghosted” on Tinder when a potential suitor suddenly ignored her after weeks of talking – Gabrielle rules out ever dipping her toe into the online dating pond.
She says, “How the hell did anyone ghost Louise? She’s so talented and amazing. No way would I try dating apps – I’d be scared, and I find it a bit creepy. I’m old-fashioned and I think that when you meet someone through a friend, they’re less likely to be a psychopath. I like the idea of it being organic, like meeting through friends.”
The two-time Brit Award winner – who suffers from ptosis, which can cause the eyelid to droop, and famously wore a sparkly eye patch – shot to fame as a
’90s singing icon, with her soulful debut Dreams reaching number one, followed by Rise Again. Almost 20 years on, she has made an epic comeback with a new album after winning over a younger generation of fans on family-friendly The Masked Singer. And this time round, she feels even more confident and comfortable as she embraces hitting middle-age.
GROWING OLDER
She says, “I think, as women, we come into our own by the time we get to [this age]. I remember turning 40 and loving every minute of it. Some women have meltdowns when they turn 40 or 50, but I never experienced any of those things. When I hit 50, I was just happy I got there!”
The highlight of her career, though, remains being approached to write the movie soundtrack for Bridget Jones, called Out Of Reach.
She was given the book to read on the morning she jetted off on holiday, and spent
her beach break reading it.
She says, “I just remember falling in love with the characters and I literally wrote the song [ Out Of Reach] in a day. In my head, Colin Firth was my boyfriend. I’m in love with Mr Darcy, so don’t ever let me meet him because I’d run off in embarrassment.
“I am still a huge Bridget Jones fan, and every time it’s on, I have to stop what I’m doing and watch it. It’s an iconic movie and I’m still in love with it.”
By Julie Ann Trainor
● Gabrielle’s new album Do It Again is out now
‘I find dating apps a bit creepy’