Why I won’t wed again, by Bowie’s lonely widow
DAVID Bowie’s widow has declared she will never remarry as she described the life-changing grief she still suffers nearly three years on.
Supermodel Iman had been married to the singer for 25 years when he died in January 2016 from liver cancer.
The Somali-American, 63, said he would ‘always be her husband’.
She also dismissed wellwishers’ claims that she is strong, insisting she is ‘just trying to keep it together’ since Bowie’s death aged 69.
‘I will never remarry,’ she told Porter magazine. ‘I mentioned my husband the other day with someone, and they said to me, “You mean your late husband?”. I said no, he is always going to be my husband.
‘I do feel very lonely. But do I want a relationship? I can’t say never, but no, not now.’
The death of Bowie, with whom she has an 18-year-old daughter, caused an outpouring of grief from fans around the world.
Iman, who wears a gold necklace with a pendant bearing his name, said she has found it difficult when his fans approach her to offer condolences. ‘People take pictures of me in the street, and say [touching my arm], “I am so sorry for your loss”,’ she said. ‘I’m like, don’t touch me. You just took pictures of me, how can you be sorry?
‘I get the fans’ grief, but it’s not the same. They have lost someone they look up to; we have lost a husband and a father.
‘And sometimes I don’t want people to know how sad I am. People say to me, “Oh, you’re so strong”. I’m not strong – I am just trying to keep it together.’
Now, the model wants to protect their daughter Alexandria, known as Lexi.
She said Lexi has had numerous offers from modelling agents after posting pictures on Instagram, but is concerned they want to use her because of who her father is.
‘Every agency, every designer, called me to say, “If she wants to, we’d love for her to model for us”,’ she said. ‘I said, “No, she doesn’t”. I know why they wanted to her to model – it’s because she is David Bowie’s daughter.
‘[Lexi] says I am overprotective. But I told her, this can all wait, it isn’t going anywhere. Have a life that is private while you can, because one day soon, it is going to be public, so enjoy this.’ Iman rose to fame in the 1970s but moved on from modelling in 1989. In the interview she admits she had feared losing her place at the top to younger, up-and-coming stars including Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington.
‘The philosophical answer is that I knew that there was no more that I could do, and I needed to walk away in order to start something new,’ she said.
‘The less philosophical truth was that I had Linda and Naomi and Christy and Cindy behind me, and they were going to push me out anyway, so I had to leave with grace.’
She also praised moves in recent years which have seen more non-white models working for large brands.
‘It is remarkable,’ she said. ‘We are getting visible results. Not only on the runway, but where the spoils of war are: Advertising. If you pick up the magazines and look at the ads, the change is visible.’
‘He is always going to be my husband’