The pint-sized pop princess is starring in her own three-part Netflix documentary series centered on her life, career, and romantic relationships, which will hit screens on 20 May
Kylie Minogue has been ‘lucky, lucky, lucky’ in her incredible career, amassing legions of loyal fans over the decades. But when it comes to matters of the heart, she has had to deal with plenty of ups and downs.
From a ‘messy’ break-up with a beau who savaged her in a tell-all interview, to a shock romance with a musician who told her, “I don’t know what we should do first, have lunch or have sex”, we take a closer look at Kylie’s past relationships.
Jason Donovan
Kylie and Jason were everyone’s favourite couple in the 1980s. The two stars found fame as on-screen couple Charlene and Scott in hit soap Neighbours – so when it was revealed they were dating in real life, it seemed like true love. Both were talented singers, and in 1989 released their duet ballad Especially For You. But their successful music careers as solo artists meant they were often apart, travelled the world.
One heartbreaking day, Kylie made the decision to end her three-year romance with Jason; after falling in love with INXS frontman Michael Hutchence. Jason received a devastating phone call that he later admitted would impact his life for years to come. He was working in New York and Kylie was in Japan when she called her and told him it was over between them.
Too Many Broken Hearts singer Jason was left devastated, and admitted it took him “years” to get over the break-up. Speaking to The Mirror in 2016, the now 57-year-old shared: “It was an extremely painful parting of ways, and without a doubt I took a long time to recover from it. Years definitely.”
Jason acknowledged that the fact Michael was the coolest guy around at the time made things harder for him. “It was bad enough she’d run off with anybody, but she happened to run into the arms of the greatest rock god of the period – the very guy I secretly wanted to be. That was a pretty big punch to take,” Jason admitted.
Michael Hutchence
Former Neighbours starlet Kylie was just 21 when she met Michael at an INXS afterparty in 1989. The wild frontman boldly approached her by saying, “I don’t know what we should do first, have lunch or have sex.”
Kylie and Michael were together for three years until 1991, and it was formative time for the young singer. “To have someone like that open your eyes to many, many things in a rock and roll way, in a poetic way, in a lovable, humorous, amazing way, obviously it was a great time,” she said. “Even when it was slightly on the wild side, he was always very tender with me. I was a precious little thing to him, so amongst the headiness, it was always very sweet.”
In the 2019 documentary, Mystify: Michael Hutchence, Kylie described Michael as “a dark bad boy” and herself as “the pure good girl.”
She added that he was a ‘sensual’ person and awakened that in her, too: “Sex, love, food, drugs, music, travel, books, you name it, he wanted to experience it,” she said. “As his partner, I got to experience a lot of that as well. If you’re a sensual being, all of your senses need stimulation. He definitely awakened my desire for things in my world .”
In the same documentary, Kylie opened up about their split, admitting she can’t remember why they ended things: “Was it work, was it the drugs? I don’t know. He was like a broken man,” she said.
“He was on all fours on the floor crying. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what was happening. I just know he was a broken man. I’d never seen any man like that before. I left pretty confounded and destroyed and knew that was it. He broke my heart. I have to confess that the hurt stayed for quite a long time.”
Michael went on to date model Helena Christensen, and later presenter Paul Yates, with whom he shared a daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, who was born in 1996. He died by suicide a year later in 1997. Kylie attended his funeral which took place in Sydney.
Lenny Kravitz
Kylie and Lenny are said to have enjoyed a brief fling in the early 90s – but both have remained tight-lipped about what happened. When quizzed by the Herald Sun in 2020 about his alleged romance with Kylie, he said: “Ha! I’ve always been very open and honest, so anything that happened in my life will be in there. But it’ll be a while before the next book.”
It’s clear the two have maintained a good friendship, however. In September 2024, they were seen enjoying a warm, public reunion at the F1 Singapore Grand Prix, with Kylie later sharing a clip of them embracing along with the caption, “Love, love, love @lennykravitz Both here at @f1 Singapore … what a time!!”
Stéphane Sednaoui
Kylie dated French actor, director and photographer Stéphane Sednaoui between 1996 and 1998. It was a pivotal, experimental era for Kylie which saw her move away from her pop sound and embrace a more alternative, dance, and electronic style. The couple were in a relationship for two years and Stéphane is said to be the inspiration behind her track Breathe, with the singer writing the lyrics in Tokyo during their trips together there in late 1995.
She later explained the idea came to mind when her friends were worried about her being silent: “My girlfriend told me ‘You don’t realise how loud you are when you are quiet,” she recalled. The lyrics include: “Don’t blame me just because I’m bored.”
James Gooding
Kylie dated former model James Gooding for three years from 2000 to 2003. But their high-profile relationship ended in a bitter split after he was unfaithful with model Sophie Dahl, and subsequently sold a “kiss-and-tell” story in which he branded Kylie a “self-obsessed, virtually friendless control freak”.
The pop star hit back claiming the end of their romance was “all down to him taking drugs and boozing”. In a 2003 interview with The People, she said: “I was madly in love with James from the beginning but it all went so badly wrong. He couldn’t live without sniffing a line of cocaine or drinking heavily.” She admitted she let their relationship drag on far too long, adding: “I should have ditched him before the entire thing got messy.”
Olivier Martinez
Kylie found love again with French actor Olivier Martinez in 2003, a few months after her split from James. The couple seemed perfect for each other and their romance lasted five years. Olivier was also there to support Kylie after she received her devastating breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 36 in 2005.
She told Elle magazine at the time: “On particularly dark days, I’d be lying on the bathroom floor wailing and he’d say, ‘OK, honey, you can cry for just five minutes, then I’m taking you on the bike for a ride around Paris’.” But the pair decided to go their separate ways in 2007.
There were allegations he had cheated, but in a joint statement they both denied that was the case. “Olivier Martinez and Kylie Minogue have officially confirmed that they are no longer a couple. They have made it clear that the decision to go their separate ways was mutual and amicable,” the statement said. “The media’s false accusations of disloyalty have saddened them both. The two remain very close friends.”
Andres Velencoso
After being single for a year, Kylie began a relationship with Spanish model Andres Velencoso. The pair met while filming an advert for her 2008 perfume range and things quickly turned romantic. They went on to date for five years until 2013, but in the end “conflicting work schedules” drove them apart.
Speaking after their split, Kylie said: “I was very sad. You come out the other side of that, being super busy and on the cusp of so many new things help to move on.” Gushing about her ex, she added: “It was an amicable separation. I still love Andres. He’s the nicest guy, he’s the coolest guy.”
Joshua Sasse
It seemed like Kylie had finally found The One when she began dating British actor Joshua Sasse in 2015 after meeting on the set of musical comedy series Galavant. The pair – who had a 19-year age gap – even got engaged in February 2016 with Josh referring to Kylie as his fiancée at the NME Awards. But unfortunately, cheating allegations surfaced again and the pair went their separate ways in 2017.
Kylie later said she was “deluded” to have thought their relationship was going to work out. “I think we all know that things were not going great in my relationship,” she admitted. “But you know when you’re kind of deluded and you’re thinking maybe… maybe this needs saving. Turns out it didn’t.”
Then aged 49, Kylie said her split from Joshua prompted her to look into having a child without a partner – but she decided she was happier being an auntie. She told Vogue Australia at the time: “I mean if I was to meet anyone… the chances are pretty high that that person would have children anyway. So I think it’s more likely in that vein, than having children of my own.”
Paul Solomons
In 2018, Kylie began a relationship with Paul Solomons, Creative Director of British GQ magazine. The 46-year-old Welshman has seemingly swept Kylie off her feet, and she confirmed their relationship on her 50th birthday by sharing a sweet snap of the pair together.
It sparked rumours that the couple were engaged and planning a secret wedding in Kylie’s native Melbourne – but she denied this saying they are “happy as they are”.
However, following Kylie’s move from the UK back to Australia from the UK, the couple went their separate ways in 2023 after five years together, with the time difference and distance playing a major factor. She hasn’t been publicly linked to anyone romantically since.
