Has Kylie finally found her happy ever after?
● Kylie Minogue has reinvented herself with spin-off projects – boosting her fortune to £55m ● Insiders reveal how it’s allowed her to focus more time on her relationship with boyfriend Paul Solomons ● Friends predict wedding bells are on the cards for
After shooting to fame as Charlene Mitchell in Neighbours, aged just 18, before a 30-plus year career as the “Princess of Pop”, Kylie Minogue is now focusing her efforts more on a host of spin-off ventures, the latest being the launch of her own rosé wine to celebrate her
52nd birthday last month.
Despite not releasing a hit single in ten years, the singer’s fortune has rocketed from £35m to £55m as she rakes in the cash from her bedding and home designs, sunglasses and glasses range, as well as putting her name to make-up, watches and lingerie.
LOVE FOCUS
Last week, her At Home homewear brand lost a two-year legal battle against former model Caprice’s By Caprice Home range, after claiming the Dancing On Ice star’s designs copied hers.
She’s also still making music – during lockdown, the Aussie pop star has revealed she is working on a new album from her living room, telling GQ magazine, “There’s a lot of early 2000s love around at the moment. Both [then and now] feel like good times for me, so I’m channelling that into this record.”
But friends and industry professionals tell Closer that a motive for Kylie taking on more lucrative side projects is to prepare for a more relaxed future with her boyfriend of two years, Paul Solomons, 44, who is a creative director for GQ.
Popular culture expert Nick Ede, who has worked with the likes of Meghan Markle and Eva Longoria, explains, “Spin-offs are what savvy stars do as their careers ‘mature’ and they reach that point of wanting to have more of a settled lifestyle while still bringing in the money. It’s understandable that she will be looking to the future and setting things up so she can focus on her own love and happy-ever-after.
“And people will buy into the brands because Kylie is still so popular – everyone feels they have grown up with her and they have lived vicariously through her ups and downs, and all we want for her is to find the love she deserves, which it seems she has with Paul.”
Friends agree that Kylie – who was heartbroken when her engagement to Joshua Sasse broke down in 2017 – has deliberately geared up for a “more home-based” lifestyle since meeting Paul, and they suspect wedding bells are on the cards soon.
MARRIAGE
A source says, “Kylie was always so busy and career-focused in her early years, but now her happiness lies in putting love first. She was engaged
[to Joshua] for a year before meeting Paul and thought she would marry forever, which is why she started branching out into other ventures some time ago, as she realised they won’t take her away from home for months on end, like touring and promoting new music does.
“She is massively in love with Paul. In the past, she has questioned whether men were with her for her fame, but Paul was never bothered about her profile. While he’s her biggest supporter, he’s also got his own career and is successful in his own right.
“She has no doubt in her mind that Paul is ‘The One’ for her, and all her friends and family agree. Kylie and Paul openly talk about marriage and she has told friends she would love to become ‘Mrs Solomons’.
“That feeling has only grown stronger, even in lockdown, and she has really enjoyed spending more time with him. That’s one of the reasons she embraced side projects in the first place – so she isn’t having to spend eight months of the year jetting across the world touring, and can focus her attentions on her future with her man, instead.”
Over her almost-40 years of stardom, Kylie has had her share of heartbreak, including a famously “intense” relationship with late INXS star Michael Hutchence from 1989-91. And it was while dating French actor Olivier Martinez, 54 – who went on to marry Halle Berry – in 2005, that Kylie, then aged 36, was diagnosed with breast cancer. They split two years later, with her saying that the diagnosis “changed everything” about the course of her life, and was the reason she ruled out becoming a mum.
She confessed to “a sort of nervous breakdown” following her split from Brit actor Joshua, 32, amid reports he cheated on her while she was planning
their wedding. But a year later, she met the man she now calls the “true love” of her life, and said recently, “I’ve met someone who I feel good with. It feels right. I can feel my face going [red]… People say, ‘your face changes when you talk about him,’ and it does. Happiness. He’s an inspiring, funny, talented guy. He’s got a real-life, actual job! It’s lovely.”
NEXT CHAPTER
Shortly before turning 50, she said finding Paul later in life has been key to her happiness, explaining, “I feel comfortable with who I am and to have someone to share with and help you when it’s not going right and times are tough…
It’s so precious.”
And the source reveals that friends believe Kylie and Paul are now making plans for a wedding imminently, telling Closer, “They have been looking into buying a vineyard in southern France, somewhere really private, which friends have suggested could double up as a perfect venue. And they’ve also spoken about buying a property in Melbourne, Australia to be closer to her family, which they also take as a sign of the pair preparing the next chapter in their lives as Mr and Mrs.
“With all Kylie’s side projects, it means they can both cut back on their workloads and still have the money coming in to give them a wonderful future together, travelling between her native Australia and the
UK. She’s in bliss – it’s so wonderful to see.”
SHE HAS NO DOUBT IN HER MIND THAT PAUL
IS THE ONE FOR HER