After an 'ugly divorce', Tina Arena met a man called Vincent Mancini. They've been in love ever since.

Every album she's put out has gone Gold, Platinum or Multi-Platinum. She's won 15 ARIA Awards; made it into the ARIA Hall of Fame, and sang The Flame at the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games — the highest-rated TV telecast in Australian history.

But Italian-born Arena is more than just a beautiful voice and an Aussie icon. In fact, her story is a dazzling mix of warmth and tragedy.

In 1995, the singer-songwriter married her then-manager Ralph Carr. And right from the words 'I do', things were never quite right.

In her autobiography, Now I Can Dance, Arena wrote that her family encouraged her to be a "runaway bride" on her wedding day. This was after she'd a disagreement with her husband, who wasn't happy at her refusal to sell their wedding photos to a magazine.

Listen: Tina Arena speaks with Mia Freedman about the debacle that was her first marriage, and why she's in no rush to wed her new partner, on No Filter. Post continues after audio.

They split up after just two years, Arena told Mia Freedman, despite the fact that their divorce wasn't finalised until 1999.

"My first experience [with marriage] was disgraceful," Arena said. "And poorly treated under Australian law, because of what I went through financially... I went back to zero after 25 years of work... I found myself getting lost. I had a very ugly divorce."

And ugly it was. Arena said she was "humiliated" and "bullied" during that time, saying the whole experience was "deeply disturbing".

Since 2000, she has been with a new long-term partner, French-born Vincent Mancini, with whom she shares a son, Gabriel, 18.

And while they haven't yet tied the knot on paper, the couple's bond transcends that of a standard relationship.

"I've been married to a beautiful man [Vincent] for years 'behind the church,'" Arena told No Filter. "Vince always said, 'Yeah we're married, behind the church.'"

Tina Arena and Vincent Mancini. Image: Getty.

She went on: "I think at my age I've understood something really quite profound, and that is, it takes enormous strength to be the silent partner behind somebody like me, that has the history that I have... it takes a man that has to know who he is.

"I've been living with the most beautiful man for the past 17 years who has taught me about love, who's taught me about respect, who's taught me about self-worth, and the beautiful simplistic things in life."

In November 2022, Arena featured in Channel Seven's This Is Your Life, where her musical highlights, career and personal life were unpacked.

Reflecting on all that she had experienced in her then-55 years, she said: "I think that if there's something that I have understood pretty clearly, it's that I certainly know what I don't want, and I make no bones about it. I am very transparent with those around me, whether I know them well or not.

"I am very grateful for the life that I have had. Yes, there have been highs and lows, a lot of lows as well, but I have been very fortunate to have live those lows sort of quietly and not in the day in age in which we live in now."

This article was originally published in 2017 and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Getty.

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