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David Byrne is engaged!
The former Talking Heads frontman, 73, subtly announced his engagement to Mala Gaonkar, 55, when he referred to her as his “fiancée” during an interview with The Times, which was published on Saturday, Aug. 16.
While discussing his upcoming Sept. 5 album Who Is The Sky? and the origin of its ninth track, “Moisturizing Thing,” Byrne let slip his new relationship status.
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“My fiancée will sometimes come at me with greasy hands, ready to smear my face. And at one point I thought, ‘What if I wake up and really looked younger?’ ” the musician told the outlet. “But there’s a message, too. About how people judge us by the way we look. You learn a lesson you didn’t expect at the start.”
Byrne and Gaonkar live together in New York, per The Times.
PEOPLE reached out to Byrne’s representatives for comment.
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Back in 2016, Gaonkar collaborated with Byrne to write an immersive theater performance for the Stanford Arts Institute. They worked together again in Denver on another theatrical experience in 2022.
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Over the years, the pair have been spotted at several events together, including The Moth Ball 25th Anniversary Gala in 2022, the 2023 Oscars, the Dune: Part Two premiere in 2024, and, most recently, at a special screening for My Mother’s Wedding in August 2025.
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The engaged couple have both been previously married.
Byrne was married to Adelle Lutz from 1987 to 2004. The former couple share daughter Malu, who welcomed her second son in June, according to her Instagram.
“Most of the joy comes from just seeing Malu be excited about what she’s doing,” Byrne told PEOPLE in August 2023 of his happiness being a dad.
Gaonkar was previously married to financier Oliver Haarmann, who PEOPLE confirmed in September 2024 was dating Reese Witherspoon after they were seen spending time together in New York City earlier that year in July. Gaonkar and Haarmann divorced after welcoming two children together.
