In an interview this week, Italian pop star Tiziano Ferro opened up about his split from husband Victor Allen and whether Italy’s new anti-LGBTQ+ laws are to blame for him having to stay in California.
The Grammy-winning Italian singer first rose to fame in 2001 with his single “Xdono.” Since then he has released eight studio albums and collaborated with Sting, Ed Sheeran, Mary J. Blige, Timbaland, and Andrea Bocelli—and recently he even appeared on Drag Race Italia.
Ferro came out publicly in 2010 and married Allen, a former consultant for Warner Brothers, in 2019. Then last year the seemingly happy LA-based couple added two new members to their family: son Andres and daughter Margherita.
But sadly, the wedded bliss didn’t last because the singer announced on Instagram last month that the pair had separated and were seeking a divorce. “Within the past year, I have been dealing with the painful separation from my husband Victor, in silence and isolation,” he wrote.
Ferro also said in the social media post that he was canceling his book tour for his new novel Happiness at the Beginning because he is now unable to leave the state.
“I have recently initiated divorce proceedings in Los Angeles and the circumstances are such that I am unable to leave the state of California with my very young children nor can I leave them behind in California because they are primarily in my care,” he continued.
Ferro opened up on Monday to the Italian publication Corriere, about the rumors swirling that the reason he canceled his European book tour was because of recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws enacted by far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Same-sex civil unions have been legal in Italy since 2016, but same-sex couples are not legally allowed to adopt, surrogacy is illegal for everyone, and IVF is not allowed for homosexual couples. The country has also begun ordering the removal of the names of non-biological parents from the birth certificates of kids from same-sex parents and Meloni has promised not to legalize same-sex marriage.
Despite these anti-LGBTQ+ laws, Ferro claims his choice to stay in California is because of laws surrounding his divorce.
“Now, not being able to leave with the children is due not to Italian laws, but to a boring and annoying technicality: having a divorce in progress, I cannot leave the State of California with my children,” he said in an interview with Corriere, according to Queerty.
“I could have come alone, but it would have meant not being able to take care of them, who in this period are mainly with me,” he said.
