The 'Pleasure Principle' musician talks about his marriage, crediting his spouse with helping him to deal with his Asperger's and become a better person.
- Dec 28, 2022
AceShowbiz - Gary Numan is grateful to his wife Gemma O'Neil for saving him. The 64-year-old musician credits Gemma - whom he married in 1997 - with making him a better person and helping him to process his Asperger's diagnosis.
"I don't think I would be here if I hadn't met my wife Gemma. I don't think I'd have rediscovered that spark. I don't think I'd be the person I am, for f****** sure. She's made me so much nicer than I was," Gary said.
"I've never been a horrible or mean person but the way I processed my Asperger's back then was very different to the way I do now. She's taught me how to recognise it and come up with mechanisms to get around it."
"I'd be a hermit in a f******* tree house if it wasn't for her forcing me to get out into the world. I really rely on her. To this day, when I feel a kick under the table I know I'm saying something I should really think about. She's the buffer between me and the world."
However, the pair - who have three daughters - have had their ups and downs. He admitted in a recent interview, "There was a point when Gemma was just coming out of a difficult period [with postnatal depression] and I was going into what she calls a Forrest Gump period."
"It got difficult between us and nothing bothered me. I didn't write a song for two years. They put me on these tablets but they just mellowed me out. She realised what was happening and started to do what was necessary to bring me back out there and get me off the tablets."
