Las Vegas/Prague - Arguably, the only living singer in the Czech Republic who has been busy breaking hearts of women here and abroad for the last four decades has finally tied the knot this week. And he chose a fitting place for the occasion: Las Vegas.
Karel Gott is undeniably the most successful and widely-known Czech pop singer, although his political naivity, or rather conformism, has also made him many enemies over the years.
He gained his fame (and the title of the National Artist) during the period of communism in the former Czechoslovakia, although he also had a considerable following in the West Germany, Austria and numerous other countries where he was free to travel and perform unlike most of his compatriots.
I'm all -ová you, baby
Today, his publicists announced that the perennial "Golden Nightingale" (the name of the Czech/-oslovak pop music award he has won more than two dozen times) married his girlfriend Ivana Macháčková, 36 years his junior, on Monday in the American metropolis of gambling and entertainment.
The surprising news came in the form of a brief press release with pictures, circulated by the PR agency Bison & Rose.
The couple were joined at the ceremony by their 20-month-old baby daughter Charlotta Ella and the bride's mother Blanka. The bride has decided to use the surname Gottová for the future.
Note to the outsiders: Czech female surnames are almost always formed by adding the -ová ending to the surname of the husband.
"Since we have been sharing the same house for the last seven years and we are also raising our daughter Charlotta together, I have been considering marriage for a significant period of time," Karel Gott said shortly after the ceremony, according to the press release.
Blame it on Las Vegas
The city of Las Vegas seems to be close to Gott´s heart. "I have always felt very strongly about Las Vegas, where the world's foremost legends of music and show business have performed. And it was here in the Frontier Hotel where I was performing for six months in 1967 where my international career also began," added the legendary singer.
The wedding, he claims, was a mere act of spontaneity. Karel Gott and now his fully-fledged family went to Las Vegas to spend their holidays. Only later he "found the numerous wedding chapels inspiring" and asked his girlfriend to marry him on the spot. All the arrangements for the ceremony were taken care of within days.
"I am truly happy, we are a real family now particularly since I am expecting to give birth to our new child in mid-June," Ivana Gottová added, officially confirming recently published news about her pregnancy. For the 68-year old Gott it will be his fourth child.
