Todd McKenney exposes surprising family secret
The former Dancing With The Stars judge has revealed a bombshell family secret in a new interview.
While speaking on the Word For Word podcast with Ben Norris from Joy 94.9, the entertainer shared that one of his ex-boyfriends went on to marry and have children with his sister.
“She married my ex-boyfriend … so we have a weird relationship,” McKenney said about his sister, Lisa.
“She married my ex-boyfriend and is still married to my ex-boyfriend but just has never mentioned it to me. It’s weird isn’t it? I don’t think I’ve ever spoken about it publicly.”
McKenney, who recently choreographed the Australian routine for The Real Full Monty on Channel Seven, revealed that he had dated singer and musical producer Simon Gallaher for five years when he was younger.
“We did Pirates Of Penzance together … then we split up. I went on with my life and he went on with his.”
However, McKenney was unaware of the relationship between his ex and his sister until his fellow performers told him.
“I remember I was doing Cats and there was a newspaper banner outside the newsagency, and it said, ‘Simon’s love child,’” McKenney said on the podcast.
“I didn’t know anything about that but I got into my dressing room and the other guys in the show said, ‘What about Simon and Lisa?’ And I went, ‘Which Simon?’ They said, ‘Simon Gallaher.’ I said, ‘Lisa who?’ And they said, ‘Your sister!’
“I went, ‘What?!’ I didn’t even know they knew each other.
“They got married and have got three kids and I’m close to their kids.”
The Aussie entertainer said he was not bothered by the relationship on the podcast, saying: “If you’re happy go for it.”
McKenney, who is currently playing Frank N Furter in Rocky Horror in Melbourne, shared the family secret after years of covering it up.
“I’m sick of not talking about it,” McKenney said.
He revealed that he hadn’t discussed the matter before because he was concerned that Gallaher’s children were too young for the story to be in the public domain.
“For the sake of them I haven’t said it, but they’re grown up now and I get on with them and they know the stories now,” he said.
During the podcast, he also mentioned how he and his sister are “chalk and cheese” and have never had a close relationship.
“We were in the same family but cut from a completely different cloth,” he said.
“We see each other from time to time, but we don’t ring each other. There’s no animosity.”