Simply Red star Mick Hucknall was once notorious as one of pop music’s most prolific womanisers. However, he is living a very different life today compared to his pop star heyday
Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall was once notorious as one of pop music’s most prolific womanisers. This reputation stemmed from his own widely publicised admissions and a series of high-profile romances throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The singer, from Manchester, became just as well-known for his bedroom antics as he was for his soulful ballads, reinventing himself as an unlikely era-defining playboy. Yet Mick Hucknall, who celebrates his 66th birthday today (June 8), left his playboy ways firmly behind more than 15 years ago and is now a dedicated family man. We take a look at his colourful past and what he’s up to today…
Infamous bedroom conquests
The height of Hucknall’s notorious reputation was cemented by his own staggering claims about his sexual history.
In a widely reported 2010 interview with The Guardian, Hucknall revealed that at the peak of his fame between 1985 and 1987, he slept with up to three women a day, every day. Media outlets worked out that this amounted to roughly 3,000 women over that three-year period.
In later years, however, the star sought to clarify that the figure had been exaggerated and taken too literally. He subsequently told The Sunday Times that he was simply overstating the chaos of the era, likening himself to a “kid in a sweet shop who couldn’t believe his luck.”
Nevertheless, he still openly acknowledged that sleeping with over 1,000 women throughout his bachelor years was “probably reasonable to say.”
High-profile relationships
Hucknall didn’t merely chase groupies; his “little black book” boasted some of the most celebrated supermodels, actresses and sportswomen of the era. His widely publicised romantic connections included actresses Catherine Zeta-Jones and Martine McCutcheon, model Helena Christensen, former tennis star Steffi Graf and TV personality Ulrika Jonsson.
His remarkable pull with women frequently left music critics and the British tabloids scratching their heads, as they relentlessly covered his love life and regularly pointed out that his slight features and wild mop of curly red hair hardly fitted the conventional mould of a Hollywood sex symbol.
The psychology behind his womanising
Hucknall has been remarkably open about the emotional void that drove his compulsive womanising. His mother reportedly walked out on him when he was just three years old, leaving him to be brought up solely by his father.
Hucknall later identified his own behaviour as an addiction rooted in that early trauma, saying: “I wanted love from every single woman on the planet because I didn’t have my mother’s love… It was an addiction that took me to my darker period.”
In 2010, Hucknall made a formal, public apology to the women he had been involved with, showing genuine regret for his past philandering.
He admitted that his lifestyle had been self-centred and that he had “hurt some really good girls” along the way by refusing to settle down.
Life now as a family man
These days, Hucknall’s playboy lifestyle is well and truly behind him. In 2010, he tied the knot with art dealer Gabriella Wesberry, and the pair have a daughter together, Romy, 18.
He regularly mentions in interviews that he is completely dedicated to his family and favours his peaceful, settled life over the turbulence of his younger years.
Hucknall attributes fatherhood with ultimately transforming his way of life, saying that his family provided him with the unconditional love he had spent years searching for.
He now divides his time between a tranquil family home in Surrey and overseeing a vineyard in Sicily.
His career today
Hucknall recently hit the road with Simply Red to mark the band’s 40th anniversary since the release of their debut album, Picture Book.
He deliberately keeps major tours largely confined to the UK and Western Europe to ensure he isn’t away from home for extended periods.
Simply Red’s landmark 40th-anniversary stadium and arena tour wrapped up at the end of 2025, though the band is actively continuing their celebrations into 2026 through significant live album releases.
While Mick Hucknall has no further major live concert tour dates listed on the official Simply Red Tour Page for 2026, the band is set to launch highly anticipated anniversary media packages commemorating the historic milestone.
Online presence
Hucknall doesn’t have a verified personal Instagram or TikTok account. Instead, all of his official updates, music, and videos are shared directly through the verified channels of his band, Simply Red.
Neither Mick Hucknall’s wife, Gabriella Wesberry, nor his daughter, Romy True Hucknall, have public, verified Instagram accounts either.
The family are notoriously private and actively choose to live a quiet life out of the public eye. While they may have entirely private, personal accounts under different names or strict privacy settings to share photos with close friends, there are no official public profiles for either of them.
It’s important to be careful when browsing social media, as there are many imposter accounts pretending to be Mick Hucknall. The real Mick Hucknall will never message fans directly from a personal profile or request money. If a personal account under his name reaches out to you, it is a scam and should be reported immediately.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
