Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins says it was love at first sight for her when she met Purple Wiggle Lachlan Gillespie eight years ago. Back then they were both relatively unknown and touring with the Dorothy The Dinosaur show.
It did, however, take Lachy, 32, “a long time” to fall in love with Emma as she admitted in an interview after they announced their engagement three years ago, in which she also strangely said they “dwindled into becoming engaged”.
“I know the cracks started to appear almost immediately,” reveals one friend. “I think Em wanted this marriage for such a long time that it was always going to be hard to live up to the dream. Ultimately, the fairytale just didn’t match up with the reality.”
With Emma, 28, publicly airing her doubts about Lachy’s struggle to commit to her even before they tied the knot in a picture-perfect wedding in Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands in April 2016, some friends close to the couple had doubts from the outset.
“It was pretty exciting at the start because they had to keep it a secret from everyone, even the other Wiggles – it was a bit like having an affair and sharing this huge secret that only the two of you know about,” Emma’s friend says.
“When they did come clean, everyone shared in the joy and couldn’t have been happier for them. I’ve probably never seen her happier or more confident.
“Lachy’s proposal was also really sweet and then the wedding was such a beautiful, beautiful day.”
“Lachy’s proposal was also really sweet and then the wedding was such a beautiful, beautiful day.”
On their big day there wasn’t a hint of trouble in Paradise, but friends say it didn’t take long before reality impacted on their romance.
The two stars couldn’t take a honeymoon because of the Wiggles’ gruelling performance schedule.
The couple has performed almost non-stop ever since, putting on cheesy smiles in front of their thousands of young fans, but behind the scenes it had become increasingly strained as Emma battled daily pain because of a health crisis and Lachy struggled to “keep the romance alive”.
He was said to be heartbroken when Emma asked for a trial separation six months ago, telling friends she was finding it hard to relate to Lachy as a husband and had started to see him as “more like a brother”.
“I think Em wanted this marriage for such a long time… It was always going to be hard to live up to the dream.”
While it has been reported Emma’s battle with chronic endometriosis and the possibility it may impact on her ability to have children was a factor in their split, friends say nothing could be further from the truth.
“He was completely besotted by Emma and worshipped her and still does,” a close friend told Sunday Confidential. “He tried everything to make it work, but in the end he couldn’t. The truth is they’re actually still friends and it’s all very civil.”
After signing a new five-year contract during their trial separation, it’s clear that this soon-to-be divorced couple are keen to make it work as friends.
“We have embraced this as a very positive change in our relationship,” they said in a joint message to fans. “Our incredible friendship has been strengthened throughout this time.”
Less than a week after announcing their split, Emma and Lachy had a work event together.
The curse of the Yellow Wiggle
Original Yellow Wiggle Greg Page was forced to quit in 2006 suffering fatigue from a rare illness, dysautonomia, leaving his little fans devastated.
Greg’s replacement Sam Moran was left without a skivvy after Greg announced he was well enough to return in 2012, leaving Sam to “step aside”.
Just two years after her wedding to Lachy Gillespie, and a two-year health battle, Emma Watkins, called it quits on the marriage.
