Stephen Fry shuts down age-gap marriage critics with defiant response
Stephen Fry and Elliott Spencer (Image: Getty Images)
Stephen Fry has defended his 30-year age-gap marriage to husband Elliott Spencer on ITV’s The Assembly, telling critics: “It just works for us, extremely well, and if people don’t like it, well, sod them.”
In previews for the show, which launches on 8 April at 10.05pm on ITV1, Fry delves into his relationship, as well as his past drug habit and religious beliefs.
Fry, 68, appears on the interview series where autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning-disabled interviewers put wide-ranging questions to celebrity guests.
During the conversation, he was asked what he says to people who dislike age-gap relationships, in reference to his 30-year age gap with Spencer, his 38-year-old husband.
“I feel a bit sorry for them. I don’t see why they should have such an opinion about things,” Fry said. He added: “The only thing that should matter in a relationship is love and if you feel it,” stressing it should be “felt on both sides” and “not an exploitative relationship”.
Fry also pushed back on assumptions about power dynamics in his marriage. “I mean, I always say to people that in our relationship, Elliot has all the power, really,” he said, adding that Spencer “makes a lot of the decisions”.
Power, privacy and a no-filter format
In the same episode, Fry was asked an explicit question about his sexual preferences.
“Wow! That is direct as it gets,” he replied, before saying he would leave it a mystery.
Fry and Spencer met at a house party in 2012. They then got married just 10 days after announcing their engagement back in 2015. Spencer also addressed criticism at the time, saying: “I don’t care what people think,” and: “Stephen is the love of my life, the light of my life.”
Fry has spoken about his relationship before, including sharing his view on what makes it work despite the age gap. One of the UK’s most prominent openly gay public figures, he has also spoken candidly about sexuality and stigma, including saying being gay felt like there was “a horror inside him” as a teenager.
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