The REAL purpose why Paul Young’s 4 youngsters shunned his marriage ceremony

Paul Young’s four children refused to attend his recent wedding because they’re still grieving their late mother’s death, MailOnline can reveal.

The Eighties singer, 67, tied the knot with fiancée Lorna Young, 56, last Friday at a London registry office, six years since his wife Stacey lost her battle with cancer.

His daughters Levi, 36, Layla, 29, and sons Grady, 27, and Jude, 12, were conspicuous by their absence, leading fans to speculate why they were not involved.

But a friend told MailOnline that Paul’s children would have found it ‘too painful’ to see him marry again and are still ‘hurting’ from their loss.

The friend said: ‘The children are still in deep grief from their mum.

‘They would have found it too painful to watch him marry again so they stayed away.

‘Attending such a big event where all eyes would be on them when they’re still in mourning would have been too much.

‘Both Paul and Lorna understood the decision.’

MailOnline has contacted Paul’s reps for comment.

According to another family source, Paul’s children did celebrate with the newlyweds later that evening at their house, as well as the singer’s other family members from Luton, his hometown, in a more private setting.

However this has yet to be confirmed and his children, namely his two daughters who are active on Instagram, failed to mark the occasion on social media. They also do not follow Lorna. 

Paul’s eldest daughter Levi is a tech entrepreneur who previously appeared on BBC1 series Dragons Den and her younger sister Layla is a model and married husband Chris Jacobs in May this year.

Layla posted a picture on her Instagram Stories on the day of the wedding where she appeared to be working on a fashion shoot.

Paul also has a son Grady and a stepson Jude.

His late wife Stacey had Jude during a brief relationship with Israeli businessman Ilan Slazenger while she had split from Paul in 2006.

Paul married Stacey in 1987. They were together for almost 20 years before they separated briefly in 2016 when Stacey went on to have Jude with Slazenger.

Paul confirmed while appearing on ITV show Loose Women that Jude was conceived while he and Stacey took a break from their marriage, playing down rumours she had an affair.

When they got back together, the Love of the Common People hitmaker became his stepfather and claims Jude’s biological father is ’50 per cent in’ and they are like any other ‘blended family’.

Stacey, who appeared in the video for Paul’s second single Come Back And Stay in 1983, died aged 52 in January 2018 following a two-year battle with brain cancer.

She received her diagnosis when she and Paul had been married for 30 years; the same year that the musician turned 60.

She tragically passed away two years later, with Paul announcing on Twitter: ‘Sadly Stacey has passed away today after a two-year fight with brain cancer.

‘She died peacefully at our home surrounded by family, friends and her four children Levi, Layla, Grady and Jude.’

Speaking about her death on This Morning in 2018, Paul said: ‘We just made the best of it for those two years. And as a family, we agreed that we [he and his children] wanted to get working and do something positive.

‘That’s what she was proudest of. She was really happy for me when things started to pick up again. [We are a close family] we see each other all the time.

‘When she first got ill, we all said we’d cut out sugar, because it aggravates cancer, so we did that as a show of solidarity really with Stacey.’

Paul was introduced to new wife Lorna, who halls from Roscommon in Ireland, by a mutual friend and they moved in together in December 2021. He proposed two years later.

Lorna runs Paul’s company and is a familiar face to his loyal fans who attend his gigs and was a wannabe musician herself in her youth.

His wife is also a fellow widower, having lost her husband of 27 years to suicide in 2018. She nursed him for ten years before he took his own life.

They share a son called Aaron, 25, who made an emotional speech at Paul and Lorna’s wedding, hours after walking her down the aisle.

In a video Lorna posted on Instagram, he says: ‘Paul when you met my mum sadly it was a time of your lives where you were both dealing with loss and in my opinion what makes this marriage so special is that is proved to world that love truly does heal

‘I’ve never seen my mum so happy and consistently happy and it takes a special type of person to make to that happen.’

Paul looked dapper in a navy blue suit at the nuptials, whilst Lorna stunned in an elegant white lace gown with pearl detail.

Afterwards, he posted a tribute to his new wife on his Instagram account, writing: ‘Meet the new Mrs Young! Today I married the most wonderful girl.. thank you Lorna, this is one of the happiest days of my life’.

Mailonline revealed last week the couple’s decision to get married did not come as a surprise to their friends.

One told MailOnline: ‘Paul and Lorna have a deep connection.

‘They united through grief and came into each other’s lives at the perfect moment.

‘It was wonderful to see them celebrate their love together by getting married, you could just tell they’re both infatuated.’