Jean Paul Gaultier Is So In Love With Madonna, He Proposed 3 Times

Jean Paul Gaultier has been crafting looks for Madonna since the 1980s, but their relationship would’ve taken a much deeper, more personal turn if he’d had his way. 

In a Wednesday interview with London’s “This Morning,” the French designer revealed that he was “kind of” in love with Madonna throughout their professional collaboration. 

“I asked her three times if [she] wanted to marry me,” Gaultier, who identifies as gay , said. 

Turns out, the Queen of Pop wasn’t so smitten. 

“She said no,” Gaultier quipped.

From a style standpoint, Gaultier’s avant garde, gender-nonconforming looks have been a perfect match for Madonna’s provocative performances over the years. The two have formed a lasting friendship as their work together has gone on to become a part of pop culture history. 

Though the conical bra worn by Madonna on her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour is arguably their best-known collaboration, Gaultier also designed the pop superstar’s dominatrix equestrian gear, among other looks, for the 2006 Confessions Tour . He’s also responsible for her futuristic, cagelike corset,  displayed on the 2012 MDNA Tour, and her Joan of Arc-inspired ensemble worn at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in May. 

More recently, Madonna attended the 2018 “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” Met Gala on Gaultier’s arm , wearing a floor-length black ball gown and veil created for her by the designer. The singer’s daughter, Lourdes Leon, has followed in her mother’s footsteps, modeling for the Gaultier x Supreme campaign  earlier this year.

In his “This Morning” interview, Gaultier also recalled an early muse that predated his work with stars and on international runways. In fact, he said a rudimentary version of the conical bra first appeared on his teddy bear, Nana. 

“I created it for my teddy bear,” he said. “I wanted to have a doll but my parents said, ‘For a boy? No, no, no, no a teddy bear.’ So it was a girl and I could dress her as a girl.” 

Watch the full “This Morning” interview with Jean Paul Gaultier below.