Aretha Franklin has become engaged to long time friend William 'Willie' Wilkerson, The Queen Of Soul having found love later in her life aged 69, and in a short statement the veteran star revealed that plans were already afoot for the wedding.
Franklin has had a string of illustrious and not-so illustrious other halves as you might expect from someone who's been in the public spotlight for as long as she has. Her previous relationships also include two marriages; the first was to then-manager Ted White in 1961, having one son with him in 1964 named Ted White Jr, before divorcing eight years later - by which time she was already in a relationship with road manager Ken Cunningham. That partnership saw her mother her fourth child - having had two as a young teenager - before they split in 1976 and she got married for the second time in 1978 to the actor Glynn Turman. That marriage ended in 1984 however they remained friends.
Franklin'll be hoping for better luck with her new beau, with The Press Association reporting that the pair are already looking at a summer wedding in Miami Beach, Florida. In a short statement the singer joked "No, I'm not pregnant."