MUM S THE WORD

their private lives haven’t always been straightforward.

In 2010, Ayda’s dad Haldun Evecan, a Turkish advertising supremo, apologised to his daughter for not being in her life.

Speaking after she tied the knot with Robbie in 2010, he said: “We spoke on the morning of her wedding. We were on the phone for about an hour together.

“I was wishing her happiness and apologising that I hadn’t been there for her as she was growing up.

“I told her that I wished I could have been with her to hold her hand on her first day at school or to care for her when she was sick.

“I told her that I didn’t give her much and certainly not as much love as I would have liked and that will haunt me my whole life. And my beautiful daughter replied, ‘Baba, you gave me the best gift of all – you gave me life’.

“We were both in tears during the call, but they were tears of joy. She was very happy to be marrying Robbie, and I’m happy for her.” Haldun and Gwen were married for four years between 1978 and 1982. Shortly after they parted, he returned to live in his native Turkey, where he went on to become a successful advertising executive – and raised a new family. But he died in 2014 – with reports stating that Ayda was not allowed to travel to the funeral due to her pregnancy. The source added: “Ayda lost out on her relationship with her father, but her mum has more than made up for it. “Family is everything to Ayda and Robbie – in the end they have got their fairy-tale ending.”