Dannii Minogue’s love life: From claims of a fling with Simon Cowell to having a baby with a male model  – a look at the singer’s relationships after star revealed she ‘identifies as queer’

Dannii Minogue fought back tears when she revealed she identifies as ‘queer’ during the launch of lesbian dating show I Kissed A Girl.

The show, hosted by Dannii, 52, will see ten single women live together in a luxury Italian house in the hope of sparking a romance. 

Dannii, who has only been known to be in relationships with men publicly, said at the event: ‘I identify as queer in a weird way.’ 

She was responding to some of the girls in the series making it clear they fancy the Australian star in the first episode. 

Dannii also said: ‘This is so important. There hasn’t been a show for the girls in the reality gay dating world. It’s like we need this to happen. I’m hoping that there are parties up and down the country.’

After the candid admission about her identity, MailOnline is taking a look back at the singer’s love life.

One of Dannii’s most high-profile relationships was with Australian actor Julian McMahon who she met in 1990 while working on the soap Home And Away.

Dannii and Julian, who is the son of former Australian Prime Minister William McMahon, were married for two years before divorcing in 1995.

Dannii endured a difficult relationship with Julian’s mother Sonia, who disliked the singer and threatened not to attend the couple’s wedding.

The hitmaker previously said: ‘There was no relationship, she wouldn’t speak to me, I wasn’t allowed to be near her in the house, she said she wasn’t coming to the wedding. We just had no idea how to handle it – we were just trying to.’ 

In 1999, Dannii became engaged to 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, son of Ferrari Formula 1 driver GIles Villeneuve. It wasn’t meant to be however, as the pair broke up two years later. 

Three years later, Dannii began her next serious romance by dating Scottish music producer and bassist for the band Bros, Craig Logan. 

It was reported in March 2002 that the pair were engaged but by December of that year, they had parted ways. 

In August 2008, Dannii began dating English male model and former professional rugby league player Kris Smith. The pair met in Ibiza while Kris was celebrating his 30th birthday. 

It was announced in January 2010 that Dannii was pregnant and she gave birth to the couple’s son Ethan, 13, in July.

Dannii and Kris split up two years later, with the star confirming the breakup on Twitter. She wrote: ‘It brings me great sadness to tell you that Kris & I have separated. We still care for each other & ask for privacy at this difficult time, in particular for our son Ethan who remains our number one priority.’ 

During her time as a judge on The X Factor from 2007 to 2010, there were rumours Dannii had a fling with fellow judge and show boss Simon Cowell.

In an interview for his unauthorised biography Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell, the music mogul claimed he had in fact bedded Dannii while they were working together on The X Factor. 

He said: ‘I had a crush on her. It was Dannii’s hair, the sexy clothes, and the t**s. It was genuine love. I was like a schoolboy. She was foxy. She was a real man’s girl. Very feminine.’ 

Dannii was said to be unhappy with Simon spilling the details of their fling to his biographer Tom Bowers. The TV judge reportedly said at the launch of the book: ‘I haven’t been able to get her to speak to me directly. 

‘I’ve been in touch with her through intermediaries. She’s fine, I think, and, hopefully, we’re okay.’ 

Dannii refused to confirm or deny Simon’s feelings, previously telling The Mirror: ‘If he says it’s the truth then that’s what he’s saying. But I don’t have anything to do with that.’

Fellow X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne accused Dannii of having an affair with Simon in her 2014 autobiography Unbreakable.

Sharon and Dannii were reported to have had a difficult working relationship and the reality star didn’t hold back in her book.

Sharon wrote: ‘She had an uppity attitude as she was f***ing the boss. She clearly felt sh***ing Simon gave her vicarious power and it was so immature, not to mention deeply irritating to deal with.’ 

Dannii took her own shot at Sharon in her autobiography Dannii: My Story, coparing her to a ‘school bully’. 

She wrote: ‘When I sat on the judging panel next to Sharon each Saturday, having seen her publicly destroy me on yet another television show or press interview that week, I felt as if I was back at primary school when I was forced to sit next to the school bully. 

‘Over the course of the next year, Sharon announced to anyone who would listen that I was impossible to work with (but never explained why); that I was only on The X Factor because of my looks, not any visible talent or contribution to the entertainment industry; and Simon employed me only because he wanted to sleep with me.

Since 2014, Dannii has been in a relationship with singer and music producer Adrian Newman. The couple are rarely seen together due to Adrian’s desire for privacy. 

In 2022, the songstress laughed after she was probed by radio host Kyle Sandilands about her ‘secret new bloke’.

‘It’s not a secret!’ she replied. ‘You ask me this every time, we’ve been going out for nine years!

‘Every time anyone prints a picture of him, they go ‘secret man’, ‘never seen’… He’s just not interested in anything to do with the public eye.’ 

Dannii and Andrew, a singer and music producer, made their first public appearance in 2014 at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The songstress told Who magazine in 2018 she was ‘extremely happy’ in her love life, and doesn’t feel the need to share details about it.

She said: ‘We don’t talk about our relationship. We just keep that super private. But yeah, I’m extremely happy.’ 

I Kissed A Girl is a spin-off of the gay male version of the show I Kissed A Boy. 

Episodes one and two of I Kissed a Girl will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer on Sunday May 5. Episodes will air on BBC Three every Sunday and Monday night at 9pm.