Billy Idol Wife: Exploring His Relationship History and Marriage Status

When people search for “Billy Idol wife,” they’re usually trying to match the wild, leather-clad rock star image with a straightforward family story. But Billy Idol’s love life has never been simple, and the biggest surprise for many fans is this: he has never actually been married. Despite decades of fame, iconic songs like “White Wedding,” and several long-term relationships, Billy Idol has no legal wife on record. Instead, his personal life is a mix of deep partnerships, children he adores, and a deliberate resistance to traditional labels.

Who Is Billy Idol? A Quick Background

Billy Idol was born William Michael Albert Broad on November 30, 1955, in Stanmore, London. He grew up partly in England and partly in the United States, eventually becoming one of the defining figures of the late-’70s and ’80s punk and rock scenes. After early fame as a member of the punk band Generation X, he went solo and delivered a string of hits, including “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell,” “Eyes Without a Face,” and “Dancing with Myself.”

With bleached-blond spikes, a permanent snarl, and a deliberate bad-boy attitude, Idol cultivated a persona that revolved around rebellion and excess. That image helped fuel the assumption that somewhere in the background there must have been a stormy rock-and-roll marriage. In reality, his personal relationships have been intense and long-term—but never officially sealed with a wedding ceremony.

Has Billy Idol Ever Had a Wife?

The short answer: no. According to multiple interviews, biographies, and entertainment profiles, Billy Idol has never been legally married.

This can feel almost ironic given how strongly his name is associated with “White Wedding.” Many casual listeners assume the song is about his own marriage—or at least a personal wedding story. In truth, the song wasn’t about Idol walking down the aisle at all. Over time, the powerful imagery of the video, combined with his long-term relationships and the presence of kids in his life, helped birth the myth that there must have been a “Billy Idol wife” somewhere along the way.

Instead, what he has had are significant partners—women who shared his life, his home, and his children, but never took the legal title of wife.

Perri Lister: The Long-Term Partner Many Mistake for a Wife

The closest thing Billy Idol has had to a wife in the public imagination is Perri Lister. Lister is an English dancer, singer, and actress who worked with acts like Visage and was part of the performance collective Hot Gossip. She was also a regular figure in Idol’s videos and on the ’80s rock scene.

Idol and Lister began dating around 1980, and their relationship lasted much of that decade. She appeared in the “White Wedding” video and was a visible presence during the peak of his fame. In 1988, the couple had a son, Willem Wolfe Broad, who has gone on to work as a musician and designer in his own right.

Despite sharing nearly a decade together and raising a child, Idol and Lister never married. Their relationship ultimately crumbled under the weight of his rock-star lifestyle, including infidelity and substance abuse, something Idol has admitted and reflected on in later years. Still, many fans looked at their life together—especially with Perri’s frequent public appearances—and simply assumed she was “Billy Idol’s wife.”

Linda Mathis and Daughter Bonnie Blue

After his relationship with Perri Lister ended, Idol entered another significant long-term relationship with Linda Mathis, a woman more often described as his partner or girlfriend than as a public figure in her own right. With Linda, Idol had a daughter, Bonnie Blue Broad, born in 1989.

Like with Perri, Billy never married Linda, but their connection further shaped his life as a father. By the late ’80s and early ’90s, Idol’s career had hit turbulence due to drug use and health scares, including a serious motorcycle accident. During this period, his romantic relationships were complicated and sometimes volatile, but his responsibility to his children remained a constant thread.

Again, the presence of a stable partner and a child led many observers to casually refer to Linda as his wife, even though no marriage certificate ever existed.

A “Secret” Son Discovered Later

In recent years, Billy Idol revealed that he had discovered he fathered another child—this time a son named Brant Broad—after taking a DNA test. According to interviews recounted in celebrity coverage, Idol explained that he was not particularly surprised, given his past behavior and the chaotic nature of his early rock-star years.

The revelation didn’t rewrite his history so much as fill in a missing piece. It also underscored a familiar theme in Idol’s life: multiple serious relationships, many partners, and several children—but still no official “Mrs. Billy Idol.”

Relationship History and the “Wife” Myth

Part of what fuels the ongoing “Billy Idol wife” question is the sheer number of long-term, intense relationships he has had over the decades. Beyond Perri Lister and Linda Mathis, Idol has been romantically linked to high-profile women like actress and model China Chow, with whom he has reportedly been involved on and off for years, especially in the 2000s and 2010s.

When fans see someone appear at his side repeatedly—on red carpets, in paparazzi shots, or in social media photos—they may assume that person is his wife. Media outlets sometimes make the same leap, casually using “wife” when “girlfriend” or “long-term partner” would be more accurate. Over time, the misuse of the word becomes a kind of collective false memory.

Add that to:

• A career spanning over forty years

• Two publicly known long-term partners who are mothers of his children

• One late-discovered son from another relationship

…and it’s easy to understand why so many people just assume marriage happened somewhere along the way.

But Idol himself has been quite open about not marrying. In his memoir and in interviews, he has suggested that his lifestyle, personality, and the unpredictability of his career made traditional marriage unlikely. Instead, he chose commitment in more fluid, informal ways—ways that worked for a while but often couldn’t withstand the pressures of fame and excess.

Fatherhood and Life Today

These days, Billy Idol’s public image is less about pure chaos and more about legacy. He continues to tour, record new music, and perform residencies, while also taking visible pride in his children’s growth. Willem works in creative fields and sometimes collaborates with his father, Bonnie has largely stayed out of the spotlight, and Brant has quietly become part of the extended family picture.

Idol has spoken about trying to be a more grounded and present father than he was able to be during his hardest partying years. He has also taken better care of his health, acknowledging that wild living has consequences once you hit your 60s and 70s. Through it all, he remains fiercely independent in his personal life—close to his partners and ex-partners, dedicated to his kids, but still unmarried.