With the birth of their first baby just weeks away, Mick Hucknall and his partner Gabriella Wesberry were enjoying some parent-to-be shopping in Milan recently. The couple, who are expecting a daughter in June, popped in to the upmarket Oilily boutique, coming away with a bagful of purchases - no doubt in preparation for the new arrival.
Gabriella, who is a director of the singer's wine company and speaks six languages, cut a stylish figure on the outing in Italy's style capital. She first dated the Simply Red star in 1995, but they went their separate ways for a few years after he reportedly became commitment shy.
He went on to enjoy a string of romances with some of the world's most glamorous women, including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Helena Christensen but ultimately realised Gabriella was the girl for him. "We had to be together, we didn't have a choice," he has said. And the 46-year-old's bachelor boy days are definitely behind him now as he starts a family with the woman he calles his "soul mate".
The couple divide their time between Mick's properties in Surrey, Paris and Sicily - where he produces his wine label Il Cantante (The Singer). And he's apparently ecstatic at the prospect of fatherhood. "We're absolutely over the moon," he told friends in February.
Marriage may even be on the cards for the pair, as the flame-haired crooner has said in the past he would consider tying the knot after having children.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
