Marilyn Says: "He (Gavin Rossdale) was the Love of My Life"

With a happy marriage, two beautiful children and a romance that’s lasted more than 13 years, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale have one of rock ’n’ roll’s most stable relationships. But Gavin wasn’t always the perfect family man he is today.

Back in the ’80s, he was a wild child who wore black lipstick and partied until all hours at London’s underground clubs. And the most important relationship of his life may have been with another androgynous, hard-partying man.

As In Touch magazine has learned, Gavin had a long-standing secret love affair with Marilyn — a British male rocker (and good friend of Boy George) who looked remarkably like Gwen. “He was the love of my life,” Marilyn told In Touch.

Boy George broke the news of Gavin, 43, and Marilyn’s tumultuous romance in his 1995 book, "Take It Like a Man", however Gavin denied it, stating, “I wasn’t dating Marilyn. We were, and still are, good friends.”

At the time, Marilyn denied the affair, as well. But today he says he did it only because Gavin asked him to. “He was just becoming successful in America,” Marilyn explains. “I agreed to lie against every grain of my being.” Now, Marilyn wants to set the record straight.

In an exclusive interview with In Touch, the British pop icon details the love affair that spanned the early ’80s. “We were together five years,” Marilyn says. “But it felt like 40.” (Gavin’s rep denies the story.)

For even more of In Touch's exclusive interview with Marilyn, plus photos of Gavin and Marilyn, pick up the new In Touch on sale now!