Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford secretly tied the knot
Rob Halford and his longtime partner Thomas Pence got hitched last year after more than 35 years together.
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has confirmed that he secretly married his longtime partner, Thomas Pence, in a private ceremony held last year.
The 74-year-old metal icon revealed the news during an interview on Jake Shears’ Queer the Music podcast, stating that the couple wed in a low-key backyard ceremony attended by just four people. The officiant was joined by two close friends, including former Judas Priest tour manager Jim Silvia and his wife.
Halford said the decision to marry came after Pence, who had previously declined, changed his mind during one of their evening walks. The couple have been together for over 35 years.
The singer said: "I stopped asking, 'Let’s get married.' 'No, I don’t want to get married.' 'Oh, let’s just get married. We’ve been together forever.' 'No, I don’t want to get married.'"
"And then suddenly on one of our night walks, he goes, 'I think we should get married.' [I went] straight home [and got] on the phone to get a pastor."
He added of the ceremony: “It was over in an instant. But it was just a beautiful, simple ceremony.”
Halford publicly came out as gay in 1998 and has since been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility in the music industry.
Meanwhile, Judas Priest have recorded a cover of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs, featuring the late Ozzy Osbourne in what would become one of his final musical contributions.
The heavy metal legends were approached by Sharon Osbourne - Ozzy’s wife and longtime manager - shortly before his passing on July 22 at the age of 76. She reached out with a heartfelt request to have Ozzy feature on the track, a collaboration that now carries even deeper significance.
Speaking on the Full Metal Jackie podcast, Halford revealed: “What is cool and kind of waiting in the wings is Ozzy singing with me, doing War Pigs together. We’ve been able to do that—it’s there. We’re just going through the rigamarole of legal clearance.”
Halford described the experience as a career-defining moment: “Ozzy’s singing a line, then I’m singing a line, and back and forth. It’s the first time in my entire life I’ve been able to duet with Ozzy, and I’m so eternally grateful and blessed that I got to do that.”
Recalling Sharon’s role in making the duet happen, Halford added: “She approached me with this idea. She said, ‘I love your version of War Pigs. Is there a way we can get Ozzy?’ I was like, ‘You’re asking me? This is gonna happen!’”
The Breaking the Law hitmaker said the track should be cleared for release “pretty soon,” and promised fans something truly monumental: “When you hear it, it’s just colossal.
You think you’ve heard Priest’s War Pigs, but when you hear it with Ozzy singing on that track, it goes to a really special place.”
