Phil Coulter’s daughter separates from tenor husband
Shock as golden couple ‘devastated’ at breakdown of six-year marriage
THEY were one of music’s golden couples but after five years of marriage, tenor Paul Byrom and wife Dominique, daughter of musician Phil Coulter, have split.
The Irish Mail on Sunday has learned that the pair separated 12 weeks ago, just months before their six-year wedding anniversary.
A statement released to this newspaper by Joanne Byrne, Mr Byrom’s agent, confirmed the break-up and asked for privacy.
‘Sadly I can confirm that my marriage to Dominique is over. I have been very proud to call her my wife and am now dealing with the breakup as best I can,’ the statement said.
Dominique, 31, is thought to have moved back with her parents Phil and Geraldine in Bray after leaving the couple’s Dublin home.
A source close to the pair described both parties as ‘devastated’.
‘Paul is just so heartbroken,’ they said. ‘He performed with Phil on tour and on television. He considered them as much a part of his family as his mum Kathleen. Dom was the love of his life and now that it is over he is just heartbroken. He really wanted it to work out but unfortunately it doesn’t seem like it can be salvaged.’
The couple first met when Paul performed on Coulter’s Tranquillity cruise when Dominique was 22.
In a recent interview, Paul recalled: ‘Dom and I used to meet up in dark pubs like we were having some sort of extramarital affair, as we wanted to establish that we had real feelings for each other. Then I rang Phil and told him I would like to take Dom to a ball. He said to go for it but he doubted she would go with me, as he’s always wind- ing me up. Phil and Geraldine have both been really supportive.’
A friend added: ‘The split will come as a surprise to a lot of people as on the surface they seemed inseparable. However, friends started to raise concerns when they appeared to live very separate lives online.
‘And when Paul arrived at the launch of The Ivy restaurant in Dublin last week on his own, people started putting two and two together. But they just want to be left alone now to try and move on as best they can.’
‘Dom was the love of his life.. he’s heartbroken’