Sharon Corr ‘browsing the buffet’ of dating scene after split from barrister husband

Sharon Corr

Eimear McGovern

Sharon Corr, who divorced her barrister husband in 2019, has said she's back on the dating scene and is “browsing the buffet” after her marriage ended.

The 54-year-old violinist and Corrs star was married to Belfast lawyer Gavin Bonnar for 18 years before he moved on with Telma Ortiz, the sister of the Queen of Spain Letizia Ortiz, and the couple welcomed a child together in October 2021.

The news came two years after Mr Bonnar and Ms Ortiz were first photographed together by the Spanish magazine Hola!, amid signs Mr Bonnar had been warmly welcomed by the upper echelons of Spanish royalty.

Speaking to the Sunday Times Sharon, mother to son Cal (18) and Flori (16) said she is embracing the single life. She said she's learned from her marriage ending and has become stronger as a result.

She told the newspaper: "Well, I've been dabbling. I'm browsing the buffet, let's put it that way. It's really nice being single and being out there again, and you know what, a little bit of love and affection goes a long way."

Now living in Madrid, Ms Corr said she now has a new-found confidence.

"I'm very happy right now. I just feel so comfortable in my own skin and that's something that has come with age."

She continued: "A couple of friends of mine turned 50 recently and I said, ‘Your fifties are going to be your best years. You just watch this space’."

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Ms Corr said her children share some of her musical talents. “They both play piano and my daughter is a beautiful singer, but presently neither have plans to pursue a career in music," she said.

“I would never push them to do it. I think they should find their own path and I leave everything open for them …”

Of living in Madrid, she said: "It’s got blue skies and sunshine, great people who are very like the Irish in that they’re open, fun and not too classist. My kids love it there too and I have a great circle of friends."

In recent years Ms Corr released her album The Fool & The Scorpion to critical acclaim.

Lyrics such as “the queen’s twisted sister” have drawn much attention from reporters, who speculate it is a reference to Ms Ortiz.

Speaking about the album, the singer and violinist said she wrote the lyrics during “a tumultuous episode in my life”.

“The first song I released, The Fool & The Scorpion, is a very angry song. I wrote it in July 2019 and it was the last song I wrote for the record,” she said.