Frances Glandney & Her Husband Smokey Robinson Share the Same Birthday
Frances Glandney and Smokey Robinson have known each other since the nineties. Still, their relationship only became romantic around the turn of the millennium over a shared love for a seafood dish.
Frances Glandney is an interior designer from Pittsburgh and was the second woman to tie the knot with Smokey Robinson. The long-time friends wed in 2002 after keeping their relationship discrete when they began dating.
The couple has multiple homes nationwide, but their home base is in Los Angeles. Before the concept of 'man caves' became mainstream, the talented designer created a space for her husband.
Smokey Robinson and Frances Glandney attend the 65th GRAMMY Awards with FIJI Water at the 65th GRAMMY Awards on, February 5, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Why Smokey Robinson and Frances Glandney Kept Their Relationship a Secret
The "Being With You" singer and interior designer were part of a friend group celebrating holidays and birthdays. While they would chat over the phone, Robinson did not think of Glandney in a romantic sense.
They had a 12-year age gap but share February 19 as a birthday; Robinson came into the world in 1940, and Glandney in 1952. The pair was game when their friends organized a combined birthday at a seafood restaurant, Crustacean, in Los Angeles one year.
It was the crooner's first taste of coconut shrimp, and he loved it, and so did she. Reminiscing about the event over the phone some weeks later, he invited her to sample the dish again, which she accepted.
Smokey Robinson and Frances Glandney attend the 25th annual Keep Memory Alive 'Power of Love Gala' benefit for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health at Resorts World Las Vegas, on October 16, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Source: Getty Images
"That was the beginning for us," he recalled in a 2023 feature. He jokes with her all the time, saying, "You do realize that I married you because of coconut shrimp?" She preferred keeping their relationship private to keep their friends from gossiping.
Smokey Robinson and his wife collaborated on a skincare line in 2017.
This inspired his track "I Keep Calling" from 2022's "Gasms." As the woman by his side at all the industry events like the Grammys, their relationship might no longer be a secret, but they have remained discrete.
Frances Glandney, Smokey Robinson, and Berry Gordy attend the world premiere of Showtime's "HITSVILLE: The MAKING OF MOTOWN" at Harmony Gold Theatre, on August 8, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Frances Glandney Designed a 'Men's' Room' for Smokey Robinson
Robinson thinks his wife is the "one of the best" interior designers he has ever seen. She has redecorated their homes in L.A., Las Vegas, and Pittsburgh.
In their home in the City of Angeles that has since been put on the market, she made what she called the "men's room," a wood-paneled space where the singer kept some of his awards with a pool table and big screen T.V. to hang out with his friends.
She is also very close to his best friend of many years, Berry Gordy. On his birthday in 2020, she wrote that he meant the world to them, "Best Friends Forever."
Frances Glandney and Smokey Robinson attends the 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, on May 6, 2023, in Louisville, Kentucky. | Source: Getty Images
Frances Glandney's 'Selfish' Reason for Starting a Skincare Line
Smokey Robinson and his wife collaborated on a skincare line in 2017, Skinphonic, which Glandney admitted they created "selfishly." She explained:
"We did this for ourselves in the beginning because my husband and I were using many products — and nothing worked."
During the promotion of the products, she revealed a detail about her background: her daughters were converts to the products. They must be from a previous relationship, as she does not have kids with her current spouse. Nothing else is known about her kids beyond one named Brandy.
Despite winning over their family members, it does not appear that Skinphonic is still on the market. The website looks to have been repurposed as a skincare blog, and the social media has not been updated since the year of its launch.