Love Stories: John Farnham was 'history' the moment he caught sight of his future wife Jill
By Kate Rafferty|
When John Farnham caught sight of dancer Jill Blackman backstage at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne, his world was rocked.
In his own words, the 'You're the Voice' singer admitted the moment had been the end of him.
"Jillie came out of the theatre and I saw her," he said in a 1993 interview with Channel Nine's 60 Minutes.
"At that stage, she had very long dark hair, down to her very petite bum, and I was history."
Watch John Farnham's archived interview with 60 Minutes above.
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The pair had actually met as performers in the musical Charlie Girl. John was a singer in the 1971 production in Melbourne, while Jill was a dancer.
At that time, Farnham was Australia's long-running King of Pop, and a well-known household name. He was just 22.
In the interview, he goes on: "It took me about three months to get a kiss.
"We started to go out together and it naturally happened. It was just something that happened."
Before they knew it, Farnham had gone down on one knee and asked Jill to marry him.
So on April 11, 1973, the pair celebrated the beginning of the rest of their lives together at St Matthew's Church Of England in Glenroy, Melbourne.
In 1979 they welcomed their first child, Robert, who was followed by brother James in 1980.
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Sticking together
While Farnham's career took off in the '60s and '70s, he hit a fork in the road in the '80s when his fame ebbed.
Those years are what the singer calls the "lean years" of his life, and admits he was basically broke.
But despite it all, Jill stayed by his side.
"I don't think there's anything that puts more of a strain on a relationship than financial problems," he told 60 Minutes.
"And there are a lot of people out there going through this at the moment, and it's very, very, very hard. Because you tend to blame each other, I would think."
When the interviewer probes, "how broke were you?", Farnham is honest.
"Pretty broke... I had to sell everything. I had to sell my house and my car...and we didn't have terribly much to begin with."
Nearly 50 years married, and still each other's rocks
Next year, the pair will celebrate 50 years of marriage, and especially with Farnham's recent cancer diagnosis and treatment, Jill is sure to be right by her husband's side.
It was only three years ago that Jill intervened, and urged her husband to investigate some pain he was having. It proved to be a severe kidney infection.
"I didn't realise until too late. I'd been feeling uncomfortable. My wife Jill had been telling me to go to the doctor," he told The Daily Telegraph.
The diagnosis forced the singer to cancel his national tour that year and prompted him to make some drastic lifestyle changes.
He gave up smoking and cut back on alcohol, and spent most of his recovery time with his wife, and their sons at their Wonga Park farm north-east of Melbourne.
Over the years, the pair have proved inseparable, and bond best over their shared love of music, horse-riding and farm and family life.
