Cliff Richard has declared himself a lifelong bachelor after several ill-fated romances ended in disaster. Despite once intending to marry his long-term girlfriend, pop superstar Cliff has been bogged down by rumours about his sexuality for years, with fans speculating he might be gay. Eventually he was forced to respond to those rumours.

Cliff said he has had “a few false alarms” when it comes to his love life, but confessed that sex “is not one of the things that drives” him as a person. We explore his tumultuous love life, from a romance with a tennis superstar to the “very painful” rumours he couldn’t avoid.

In 1961, Cliff was dating his “first serious girlfriend”, dancer Delia Wicks. But things ended badly for the pair as Cliff wrote her a letter to break up with her after 18 months together, writing in a letter that was later made public: “Being a pop singer I have to give up one priceless thing – the right to any lasting relationship with any special girl. I've just had to make, probably, one of the biggest decisions I'm ever going to make and I'm hoping that it won't hurt you too much.

“I couldn't give up my career, besides the fact that my mother and sisters, since my father's death, rely on me completely. I have showbiz in my blood now and I would be lost without it.”

He told Delia she deserved to be with someone who could marry her – and that someone was not Cliff. She held onto the letter until her tragic death from cancer in 2010, aged 71.

Despite never actually tying the knot, Cliff has had a few near misses. He first considered proposing marriage to dancer Jackie Irving, describing the pair as “inseparable” when they dated in the 60s. However, Cliff never proposed, and Jackie instead went on to marry Adam Faith.

Cliff next wanted to ask tennis champ Sue Barker to marry him in the 80s, admitting in 2008: “I seriously contemplated asking her to marry me, but in the end I realised that I didn't love her quite enough to commit the rest of my life to her.”

He had said at the time: “I'm seeing Sue, the only girl I want to see at the moment and if marriage comes on the horizon, I shall relish it.”

In her 2022 memoir Calling the Shots, Sue said she has begged Cliff to stop talking about their romance, writing: “The only thing we fell out over was the fact that he kept harping on about me in interviews — ‘I didn’t love her enough to propose,’ and so forth.

“It really upset me. In fact, Greg Norman had been much more important in my life than this brief time with Cliff.

"Yet it’s this relationship that is still hanging around my neck. It’s the one that just won’t go away."

Cliff also said he was “in love” with Grease actress Olivia Newton-John, but she was already engaged to someone else. He insisted in the 80s that he “would like to settle down and have a family one day”, but later confessed that he just never had the time.

He said: “I've had a few false alarms. I've been in love, but marriage is a big commitment and being an artist consumes a great deal of time.”

Cliff once had a torrid affair with the wife of one of his closest friends. When Carol Costa discovered her husband Jet Harris had been unfaithful to her, she developed a connection with Cliff – and is the only sexual relationship Cliff has ever admitted to.

He said in his 2008 autobiography: “Adultery was a cause for serious scandal at that time and if my affair with Carol had become public knowledge, or if she and Jet had divorced and I had rushed off and married her, it would almost certainly have wrecked my career."

Cliff has long since denied rumours of him being gay, and first insisted he is not in the 70s. He said: “It's untrue. People are very unfair with their criticism and their judgements. I've had girlfriends. But people seem to think that if a bloke doesn't sleep around he must be gay.

“Marriage is a very special thing to me. I'm certainly not going to do it just to make other people feel satisfied.” He said the rumours were “very painful” to him, and that he has “never” considered the possibility he might be gay.

Cliff added in 1992: “Even if I got married tomorrow there would be a group of people who would believe what they wanted to believe. All that counts is what your family and friends know and they all trust and respect me. What the people outside think, I have no control over.”

Later in the 90s, he reiterated: “I'm aware of the rumours, but I am not gay.”

In 2014, he said on ITV show Loose Women: “I always feel that I’m one of the most open people [to the world]… I’ve done more interviews for TV for sure, for press than anyone else alive on the planet.

“I don’t mind talking about things but there are things that are mine. That will go with me to my grave.

“And I’ve given up for instance, I don’t talk about my family, I certainly don’t talk about my sexuality.”

He added: “My personal life is absolutely my business, and it’s nobody’s business but mine, you know?

“I’m thinking ‘Is it illegal?’ No. If adults do what they want to do behind their bedroom doors it’s absolutely up to them. I’ve no interest.”

He came out in support of gay marriage in 2011, and said he “loves” the enigma around his sexuality, stating: “If I was gay, would it make any difference? Would you not come to my concerts because I was gay? I hope not. I have got gay friends. Most people have gay friends.”