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John and Valerie: A Love Story Decades in the Making (2017)
For decades, John and Valerie have been at the center of the music industry—he as a legendary bassist, she as the enigmatic frontwoman of an iconic band. But beyond their careers, their love story has captivated fans just as much as their music. From their early romance in the 1980s to their unexpected marriage in 1997, and now, two decades later, their enduring relationship continues to fascinate.
In this exclusive interview, John and Valerie open up about their unconventional journey—how they found their way back to each other after years apart, the joys and challenges of blending their families, and what keeps their relationship strong after all this time. With their signature mix of honesty, humor, and undeniable chemistry, they set the record straight on the rumors, reflect on lessons learned, and prove that sometimes, true love really is worth the wait.
You both have had incredibly successful careers in music, but tell us, how did your love story begin?
Valerie: It was 1980. The Velvet Reverie had a concert in Birmingham for our first tour, there was a lighting problem in the venue and we couldn't rehearse there. So, Soren knew about this club, The Rum Runner and he asked if we could rehearse there, they said yes, and we did. As soon as I walked through the door, John caught my attention. I was very turned on by the nerdy look he got at the time. [Laughs]
John: And she took my breath away. I was starstruck, she had the attitude, the image and the aura of a rockstar. She was the coolest girl I’ve ever seen in my life. I thought she would never notice me so I tried to make myself noticed somehow. I wanted to impress her so that she wouldn't remember me as just a simple waiter at the club.
Valerie: We kissed at the end of the night.
John: She kissed me at the end of the night. [Laughs pointing at Valerie]
[Valerie shrugs her shoulders]
Valerie: I couldn't resist.
When the article about your wedding came out in late February 1998, people thought it came out of nowhere, nobody expected it. Was it really like that?
John: Well… I proposed unexpectedly and I didn't have a ring for her, but for me it was a question of now or never, so I asked her and we got married first thing in the morning in Las Vegas in 1997. We wanted a good memory of that moment so we pretended we were engaged to everybody else and we planned the wedding. But, we had a history, we were always in each other’s lives and that was possible in a certain way because we dated from late 1980 to late 1981.
But it didn't exactly last, there’s so much space between 1981 and 1997.
John:[Nods] Yeah, she broke up with me because she saw that our careers were getting bigger and thought we needed to concentrate on them. She said we’d be better off, now I can say I was right and she wasn't [Valerie rolls her eyes, John laughs]. But, at the time I thought we could've made it work and I tried to get her back but she was determined. I was so heartbroken that I made the mistake of getting into relationships so that I could move on. You don't only hurt yourself, you hurt other people.
