Wow. The next time you hear about a celeb couple breaking up and think love is dead, you look at Iman and David Bowie. Not even actual death can come between them.
Iman is opening up about the music legend in new interviews with People and Today this week to promote the release of her very first fragrance. “Love Memoir” is meant as a tribute to the couple’s “epic romance” five years after his passing from cancer in 2016.
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She explains she got the idea while visiting their country house after his passing, something which was incredibly difficult without him the first few years:
“I just got very sad and would rush back to the city. I thought I had processed [the loss] but I had not.”
But during lockdown, it was the obvious choice, away from the more packed and dangerous city. So she stayed there, away from the world. She took comfort in his many books, his favorite paintings, the sunsets they used to watch together. And then the smell struck her. His favorite fragrance was Tom Ford’s Grey Vetiver. Combining vetiver with bergamot from Tuscany, where they were married, the 66-year-old created a scent she calls “a monument to eternal love.” Awww!
The couple’s eternal love began in 1990 when they were set up on a blind date, the supermodel recalls, in one of her least favorite cities — El Lay:
“I had never intended to move there. It’s not one of my favorite places. It’s so vast but I personally believe now that was my destiny. My destiny was calling me to get there so I could meet David.”
They hit it off right away — though it was more sudden for Bowie. She remembers:
“David said it was love at first sight. It took me a few months but I got there.”
It’s hard to imagine Bowie having to work hard at anything, but he definitely put in the effort for Iman. She remembers after their first date, she had to fly to Paris for a runway show, and when she arrived her hotel room was full of gardenias. When she came back, he met her at the airport — something people who haven’t been to LAX might not realize is a huge hassle. Definitely making a statement there. She says:
“And that’s how it started. He properly wooed me.”
How did she finally know it was meant to be?
“Early on, we were walking down the street and my shoelace came undone and he got on his knees to tie it for me and I thought he’s the one.”
The power couple — a rock god and a brilliant supermodel who spoke five languages — got married like celeb royalty in Florence, Italy in 1992 but lived a much more down-to-earth lifestyle in New York City.
Bowie loved how he could “hide in plain sight” in the bustling city, walking the couple’s daughter Lexi home from school without being hassled. Iman says:
“I knew him as the man, David Jones, his real name. And not the rock star.”
As her husband, the Starman singer was amazingly supportive. She admits:
“If David was not in my life, I don’t know if I would have had the courage to start Iman Cosmetics. I asked him ‘What if it fails?’ and he said, ‘If you don’t try, you’ll never know if it succeeds.’ He was very proud that it was one of the first lines to be very inclusive. Very chuffed, as he would say. Pleasantly happy.”
It’s been a real struggle since his passing. Iman says:
“There are days that are harder than others but the memories are not all sad of why the person isn’t here. The memories are now of how great it was. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I had 26 years. So I have that to sustain me.”
It will have to sustain her for the rest of her life — as she has no plans to ever marry again. She remembers when her daughter, now 21 years old, asked her about it:
“I said ‘No, I will not.’ I still feel married. Someone a few years ago referred to David as my late husband and I said ‘No, he’s not my late husband. He’s my husband.'”
Wow. Amazing.
Like we said, Iman spoke with Hoda Kotb on Today as well on Wednesday, and she brought the daytime TV host to tears discussing her husband.
See that emotional interview (below):
“At the end of our days, the only thing we will have, if we are lucky, is our memories.”@The_Real_IMAN brings @hodakotb to tears discussing David Bowie. pic.twitter.com/irikivJCLU
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 17, 2021
[Image via Flashpoint/Hugh Dillon/WENN.]