Elvis Costello Has Been Married 3 Times – His Longtime Marriage with Singer Diana Krall Began in 2003

Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Elvis Costello had been in two relatively long but failed marriages before he married fellow singer Diana Krall. Costello and his current wife's union has been the longest of his three marriages.

Costello was born Declan Patrick MacManus on August 25, 1954, in London, England. Growing up, he lived in Twickenham with his parents, Lilian Alda and Ross MacManus, who was also a musician and helped his son take his first steps in the music industry. Costello's career took off in the 1970s.

Around the same time his professional career began booming, his private life also experienced a significant change after he married his first wife, Mary Burgoyne, in 1974. A well-established Costello went on to marry Cait O'Riordan in 1986 and, finally, Diana Krall in 2003. Three children came from his marriages combined.

Elvis Destroyed His First Marriage

Costello's life is the envy of many. He has had a very successful music career, received many honors, and became rich while at it. However, the artist has a few regrets about the life he has led. One of the things he is bitterly disappointed about is his divorce from his first wife and the mother of his first child, Burgoyne.

The music star was first acquainted with his future wife while they were still young and had known each other throughout their childhood. In his autobiography, he talks about his egotistic view of himself back in the day and how that contributed to the ugly demise of his relationship with his childhood sweetheart.

Burgoyne and Costello were married for ten years before they went their separate ways. Costello attributed the break to his infidelity and drug use. In the book, there is a clear sign of remorse and self-reproach towards his actions that he emotionally referred to as breaking the heart of "one kind girl."

His Second Marriage Lasted 16 Years

One year following his split from Burgoyne, Costello began a relationship with Cait O'Riordan. They met when he was producing an album called "Rum Sodomy and the Lash" by the Pogues, a punk band that O'Riordan was part of.

O'Riordan played the bass guitar for the Irish band led by famous rockstar Shane MacGowan. She left the band in October 1986 to join her lover, Costello's group, where she subsequently contributed to his "King of America" album.

In their private life, their relationship resulted in a marriage that lasted 16 years, from 1986 until their divorce in 2002. Commenting about their union, Costello said that the marriage was miserable, but he endured it for so long as a way to "punish myself for the things I'd done. For my lack of gratitude. For all my vanity."

His Third and Longest Marriage with Diana Krall

After a couple of failed marriages, Costello was not ready to give up on it. While attending the 2002 Grammy awards, the British singer met Canadian singer and pianist Diana Krall. The duo was introduced through another British singer, Sir Elton John, and began dating shortly afterward. Krall said their love started when:

“We were performing together on an old stage and Elvis had on very new, very modern and pointy shoes. He leaned back to sing the high note and all of a sudden I couldn’t see him anymore. He literally fell for me. We’ve been together ever since.”

Krall is arguably more accomplished than Costello, boasting three Grammy Awards and seven multi-platinum albums, and is one of the highest-selling Jazz musicians of all time. A master pianist, she started playing when she was four years old and professionally when she turned 15. Krall was born on November 16, 1964.

Thirty-nine years after her birth, Krall married Costello on December 6, 2003, in her first marriage. The wedding occurred at Sir Elton John's estate in Surrey, England. The wedding guest list was relatively small but contained some heavy hitters, including Paul McCartney. The marriage has since produced two children.