Gloria Gaynor Talks About Her Marriage With Her Ex Husband

Disco icon Gloria Gaynor, known the world over for her classic "I Will Survive" and with newfound respect due to her recent Kennedy Center Honors, is opening up about one of the most trying chapters in her long life, being married for 26 years to her ex-manager, Linwood Simon. Now 81, Gaynor admitted that this time represents her "biggest regret" and said the decision to marry Simon was the "worst choice" she ever made.

Gloria poured her heart out to the Telegraph in an interview published on August 13th, revealing that she believes that the lack of boundary setting was the reason for the collapse of her marriage. "My marriage turned out to be a disaster, because I didn't know how to set boundaries," she admitted. She further agreed that her failure to set a boundary for herself was why the relationship ended. "I observed all of his boundaries, but I didn't set any of my own. That caused my marriage to go into the toilet," she said, not missing a step.

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Gaynor discussed how her own early life affected her, part of which involved tracing what she saw as problematic aspects of their relationship back to very early memories of being let down as a child, which were shaping the dynamic between them. "My father was not around, which was the basis for my problems throughout my life," she explained. "A father is where a girl gets her sense of self-worth. She gets her understanding of what a man is supposed to be like and what he's supposed to do for her and expect of her." Gaynor claimed these lingering childhood issues led to problems with Simon, which helped pave the way to divorce in 2005. The way she discusses it in the reflection provides a more rare glimpse into the insecurities of a musical icon who has historically been a symbol of strength and power. Gaynor's own endurance matches the resilience she sang about in her music, a reminder that icons have feelings.

Gaynor, who has been divorced for years, views her experience as a teachable moment of self-awareness regarding boundaries and how the road to healing involves becoming who you are, rather than who you say or think you are, and whether one truly wants to grow up. Her honest admission is a warning and also a beacon of light, proving that even the "worst decisions in life" can be lessons for us to become stronger and wiser. Gloria Gaynor went from marital regret to self-possessed discovery in a tale as old as time, and in doing so, exhibited the singular power of humanity to move beyond hardship and triumph over itself for what fueled a dance floor classic also drives her toward personal enlightenment.