Although he's turning 60 this week, virtuoso violinist André Rieu is showing no signs of slowing down his intense schedule — with a Down Under tour just around the corner.
And despite his thousands of excited Aussie fans, the lowdown is that he has just one person to thank for all his success as he hits his landmark birthday: his wife.
"I was in an orchestra full of people who didn't care about music and Marjorie could see I was very unhappy, so she told me to follow my dream to have my own orchestra and travel all over the world, which is what I do now," André tells us of his journey to success.
"If she had not been there I would have probably ended up in the gutter."
After years of supporting her husband, loyal Marjorie is happy to remain in the shadows while he takes centre stage across the world, and the loving couple rely on trust to get them through long periods of separation.
"We trust each other completely," André says. "Marjorie herself avoids the publicity.
"The consequence, however, is that if I am seen with the same woman more than twice, they immediately say that we are having an affair.
"Marjorie can really only smile about that. She knows that it goes with my profession.
"That is the basis of our love, and the basis of my success."
