Who Is Barry Manilow's Husband? All About Garry Kief

Barry Manilow and Garry Kief met in 1978 and got married in April 2014

Barry Manilow married his longtime love, Garry Kief, in April 2014 after being together since 1978.

Manilow, whose career began in the early 1960s, has largely kept his relationship with Kief out of the spotlight, and the singer didn't publicly come out as gay until 2017.

"I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay," he told PEOPLE of his fans. "So, I never did anything. When they found out that Garry and I were together, they were so happy. The reaction was so beautiful — strangers commenting, 'Great for you!' I'm just so grateful for it."

Here is everything to know about Barry Manilow's husband, Garry Kief.

He and Manilow met in 1978

Manilow and Kief were introduced back in 1978, and Manilow later revealed he instantly had feelings for Kief. "I knew that this was it," he said in his 2017 PEOPLE cover. "I was one of the lucky ones. I was pretty lonely before that. … Garry didn't know what I did, even though I had all these records out. He was a guy, and I was a guy, so we could just deal with each other like two normal people, not like a superstar and a person."

He and Manilow married in April 2014

Manilow and Kief quietly married at their Palm Springs, California, home in April 2014, but the news didn't break until a year later.

"It was a surprise," a friend of the couple told PEOPLE of their wedding at the time. The pair invited "20 to 30 guests" who believed they were meeting the couple to have lunch.

"He's at a point now where he's got his career and personal life in a great place and he really doesn't care what people think," the friend said of Manilow. "He's in love and happy."

Manilow later opened up about the wedding in his 2017 PEOPLE cover story. "I didn't think it was going to be that emotional," he said. "It was deeper than we thought it was going to be, looking at each other, saying, 'I love you' in front of people."

He is also Manilow's longtime manager

Manilow and Kief also have a professional relationship: Kief is the singer's longtime manager. He took on the role soon after the pair were introduced. In 2017, Manilow told PEOPLE, "He's the smartest person I've ever met in my life — and a great guy, too."

The couple's friend and neighbor Suzanne Somers told PEOPLE in 2017 that Manilow and Kief's professional relationship works because they absolutely trust each other.

"There's Barry Manilow the performer, and then there's the Barry 'machine,' " she said. "It takes enormous savvy and know-how to book and market complicated arena tours, choreograph promotion, direct the entire team and make it look effortless, and that part is Garry's domain. A major career takes two. Between them, there is enormous comfort and trust."

During an appearance on Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? in November 2023, Manilow credited Keif for keeping him out of trouble at the height of his career.

"Garry saved my life. As my career exploded, it was just crazy. And, you know, going back to an empty hotel room, you can get into a lot of trouble if you’re alone night after night after night,” he said. "But I met Garry right around when it was exploding. And I didn’t have to go back to those empty hotel rooms. I had somebody to cry with or to celebrate with."

Manilow added, "It was pretty lonely until I met Garry. And then it was fun.”

He has a number of other celebrity clients

Manilow isn't Kief's only high-profile client. As president and CEO of Stiletto Entertainment, Kief has worked with jazz singer Matt Dusk and actress Lorna Luft, who is Judy Garland's daughter and Liza Minnelli's half-sister.

Kief is also the trustee of the Judy Garland Heirs Trust, according to Deadline.

Fans have embraced his relationship with Manilow

In 2017, Manilow told PEOPLE that he wasn't publicly out for decades in part because he wasn't sure how his fans would receive the news — but they have celebrated the singer's relationship.

After announcing that they were married, Manilow and Kief were embraced by the singer's longtime supporters. "The fans and the public have been so supportive. I thought, 'Oh, man, I'm gonna get a lot of negative stuff.' Not one negative letter, comment — anywhere," Manilow told PEOPLE one month after his cover story went viral. "These people, these strangers — they care for me. Isn't it odd? I'm just a musician who sings. And these people care about my happiness — and that's what's been going on. It's been a beautiful, beautiful experience."

He and Manilow live in Palm Springs

Manilow and Kief held their wedding at their 53-acre home in Palm Springs, California. Manilow told PEOPLE why they chose the city, where he has lived since the '70s, as their home base.

"The reason I chose Palm Springs: My life is so filled with noise — great noise and the noise of airports and streets and going in and out of concert halls and music and applause," he said. "I needed to be able to come home to a place where it was peaceful. It's peaceful here. It is the absolute opposite of what my 45-year career has been."

He has one daughter

When Kief and Manilow met, the talent manager's daughter, Kirsten, was only a year old.

"Garry and I have been together going on 40 years, and we raised a daughter," Manilow revealed during an interview with writer Michael Cavacini in 2017. "She turned out to be a great, beautiful girl ... Our relationship and my being gay — I've always been a proud gay man. I've always been very proud of Garry and I."

In 2023, Manilow revealed that he and Keif recently became grandparents when Kirsten welcomed her first baby via adoption.

"I’ve never, ever thought about having a baby or having anything to do with [being] a father or any of that," the "Could It Be Magic" singer told PEOPLE. "I’m watching this little girl—she’s 2½—grow up and learn. This is a brand-new experience for me, and I really am enjoying it."

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