Our groovy kind of love, by ex-ex-Mrs Phil Collins
They divorced. They found new partners. Then, in a showbiz fairy tale, Phil Collins and his ex-wife reunited. In this deeply moving interview, she reveals what really tore them apart... the devastating illness that drew them together again... and how they
IT IS a ‘wonderfully surprising’ second chance at love that even Orianne Collins says she has to pinch herself to believe. Eight years after divorcing her superstar husband Phil and receiving £25m – then the biggest settlement ever seen in Britain – the couple are ‘profoundly and deeply’ in love again, much to the delight of their two young sons.
In a world exclusive interview from the $33 m Miami mansion she shares with the Genesis legend, Orianne opened her heart to the Mail on Sunday to tell the remarkable story of how the couple rekindled their romance. ‘It’s different this time,’ she says. ‘When you first fall in love there is passion and excitement. But the second time around it’s more thoughtful, more mature.
‘You’ve both thought about it for so many years, you’ve missed each other, you’ve come to the realisation that this is the right place to be and this is the person you truly love. It’s more profound, a deeper connection. I don’t think I ever stopped loving Phil but it took me a while to realise that he is the love of my life. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes you don’t realise you’ve made a mistake until it’s too late. If you have a chance to go back and correct a mistake, as we have been lucky enough to do, that’s a wonderful gift.’
Phil, 65, who built a reported £115 m fortune thanks to a string of hits including You Can’t Hurry Love, In The Air Tonight, Against All Odds and A Groovy Kind Of Love, revealed in 2014 how he had battled with alcoholism and depression after their 2008 divorce (he has been sober for three years), while his ex-wife stayed in the shadows, focusing on her charity work and upmarket jewellery line.
But in this, her first major interview, Swiss-born Orianne, 43, speaks candidly about how she blames undiagnosed postnatal depression for causing the initial split from Phil – and how a crippling illness left her with suicidal thoughts.
We meet at the couple’s magnificent mansion, overlooking Biscayne Bay, which once belonged to Jennifer Lopez.
In a lilting French accent Orianne jokes that the ‘final’ proof of their re-commitment to each other is the recent acquisition of a Jack Russell dog called Spot.
It has been a discreet reunion that took place last summer but was only revealed recently when Phil, promoting a re-release of his solo albums, told an interviewer: ‘I’m actually back with my third wife. I haven’t really talked about it. We’ve been together for a while and no one’s noticed.’
Poignantly, Orianne tells how, last summer, when the couple sat sons Nicholas, 14, and 11-year-old Mathew down to say they were getting back together, the younger boy revealed he had secretly wished for the reunion as he blew out his birthday candles the previous December.
Orianne recalls: ‘We sat the boys down and told them, “We’ve decided to get back together and we’re going to do our best to make it work this time.”
‘Their reaction was filled with joy, they screamed, “Yesssss!” It was so cute. Then Mathew said, “My wish has come true.”’
Orianne was just 21 when she met Phil in 1994 during his tour of Switzerland.
Phil was in the midst of a bitter split from his second wife Jill – mother of actress Lily Collins – and fell head over heels in love with Orianne, who had been hired as his translator. Phil divorced Jill in 1996 and married Orianne in 1999. Elton John and Eric Clapton were guests and the newlyweds set up home in a property overlooking Lake Geneva that once belonged to Grand Prix legend Jackie Stewart.
Collins was criticised by many, including Oasis star Noel Gallagher, for turning his back on his homeland and becoming a ‘tax exile’ to which he responded: ‘I fell in love with a woman who lived on Lake Geneva. I’d have moved to Grimsby if she happened to live there.’
Orianne says their marriage began to falter shortly after Mathew’s birth in December 2004: ‘I was breastfeeding and one day he stopped wanting my milk. It felt like instant rejection. I wasn’t feeling that great and it was emotionally overwhelming for me. It was hard for Phil to understand.’
She says she became depressed and that created misunderstandings and distance.
‘Phil couldn’t understand why I wasn’t happy. He didn’t want the divorce.’
Orianne insisted on splitting in 2006 and they divorced in 2008, but the pair were determined to retain a civilised relationship. Phil even bought a home near the family base to be close to his boys.
Orianne explains: ‘When you go through a divorce it is difficult but we were determined to keep the best relations because of the kids. We tried to be wise and intelligent.
‘The last thing you want when handing over children is a bag being thrown at a door and the kids picking up on that anger.’
They began dating other people. Phil’s longest relationship was with US TV anchor Dana Tyler, from whom he split last year after four years. Orianne married banker Charles Mejjati in 2008 and, shortly after the birth of their son Andrea in 2011, moved to the US.
EVEN then, she and Phil remained close. ‘I married someone else but Phil was always my best friend. I would talk to him about everything, even my relationship with my husband. Phil had a girlfriend for many years but we’d get together and go out for lunch or dinner.
‘He’s a funny guy. We have history together. He understands me at a level no other man does. We stayed friends throughout our other relationships and used to joke about getting back together.’
The pair also worked closely together on the Little Dreams Foundation, a charity they
When we told the boys they yelled “Yesssss!”