‘I’m very much in love’: Rita Ora CONFIRMS marriage to filmmaker Taiki Waititi as singer reveals she has finally found her fairytale ending after parents’ 30-year bond inspired her search for a soulmate
- Rita Ora has spoken about her marriage to Taiki Waititi for the first time after secretly tying the knot earlier this summer
- The singer, 31, insists she is head over heels with the filmmaker, 47, and is planning another big wedding in London for her friends and family
- Pop star Rita says she took inspiration from her parents – her mother Vera and her father Besnik – in her search for love after learning from their strong more than 30-year relationship
Rita Ora has spoken about her marriage to Taiki Waititi for the first time after secretly tying the knot earlier this summer.
The singer, 31, insists she is head over heels with the filmmaker, 47, and is planning another big wedding in London for her friends and family.
Pop star Rita says she took inspiration from her parents – her mother Vera and her father Besnik – in her search for love after learning from their strong more than 30-year relationship.
In love: Rita Ora, 31, has spoken about her marriage to Taiki Waititi for the first time after secretly tying the knot earlier this summer
She said on Jaime Winstone’s Greatest Night Ever podcast: ‘I’m in love. I’m very much in love. I’m in love, I’m in love, amen!
‘But I love love as well. I’ve always been such a believer in it and I’ve always felt like I always wanted the fairytale and that’s what I grew up loving.’
On her mum and dad, she added: ‘My parents have been together for over 30 years, so for me it was always about love and finding a partner and all that, so I’m really happy I did.
Romance: The singer insists she is head over heels with the filmmaker, 47, and is planning another big wedding in London for her friends and family
Heartwarming: Pop star Rita says she took inspiration from her parents – her mother Vera and her father Besnik – in her search for love
‘I made that choice. It made me happy and I love Taika. He’s so funny and lovely.’
It emerged Rita had married Taika Waititi in an intimate ceremony in London in August.
At the time, the star was said to have changed her surname, meaning she will now be known as Mrs Waititi-Ora.
Glitz? The singe sparked wedding speculation this summer when she was seen wearing a gold band on her ring finger
The Hot Right Now hitmaker and the Thor: Love And Thunder director were both pictured with gold bands on their ring fingers in the days around their wedding – sparking speculation they had already tied the knot.
Rita and Taika started dating in March 2021, before going public with their romance that August.
The couple got engaged two before their August wedding, with sources claiming they were planning a huge party to celebrate their secret wedding with friends and family.
Sizzling: Rita delighted fans with a photo dump this summer as she shared sultry snaps from her recent getaway in Paris, with a noticeable new addition on her wedding finger
Bling: She modelled dazzling outfits yet it was her jewellery that caught the eye
A source told The Sun at the time: ‘It was a really intimate ceremony and super special for everyone there. Their nearest and dearest can see how madly in love they are.
‘Despite living in the spotlight, Rita is determined to keep the relationship as private as possible and didn’t want to make a big song and dance about the wedding.
‘Rita’s already back in the studio working on her third album, with her latest session being with Ava Max and Noah Cyrus’ writer Rollo.’
It was reported in June that the couple were to wed one another after almost simultaneously popping the question.
The British singer and the filmmaker were said to be planning an imminent, low-key ceremony abroad before celebrating with their fellow A-listers in a big London bash later this year.
It is understood that Rita, who is working on several films and The Voice Australia, and Taika, who is planning a string of movies, hope to tie the knot once their work commitments have wrapped up.
Married man? Rita and Taika fuelled speculation that they has married after the Thor director was seen sporting a wedding band this summer
A friend told The Sun: ‘This isn’t about them doing a big showy thing and crowing about it beforehand. It’s just about them being in love and deciding the time is right to formalise their relationship. They couldn’t be happier.
‘They didn’t do a whole, ‘Will you marry me?’ thing and an Instagram post.
‘There’s no ring or big build-up. They just got closer and closer and eventually said to each other almost simultaneously, “I want to marry you.”‘
In August, the couple, who began dating in March 2021 after meeting in Australia, were said to be moving so fast in their relationship they started discussing marriage, a source told New Idea.
‘Taika calls Rita ‘wifey’ all the time and chats about how he’s going to be her first and last husband,’ the insider said.
‘Everyone around them downplays it as flirty banter, but [Rita is] definitely hoping he’s for real,’ they continued, adding that she is ‘absolutely obsessed’ with him.
At the time, Rita had reportedly started joking about getting married in a ‘quick, hippy-dippy’ Californian ceremony, and then celebrating with a bigger party at a later date.
Taika was previously married to film producer Chelsea Winstanley, but the pair are believed to have quietly split in 2018.
The pair share two daughters: Te Hinekāhu, ten, and Matewa Kiritapu, six.
In February, Rita reflected on her relationship with Taika as she shared a gushing Valentine’s Day post.
The songstress thanked the director for ‘being cool’ as she posted a previously unseen throwback of the pair in 2018 – three years before their romance began.
Love story: Rita and Taika began dating in March 2021 after meeting in Australia (pictured at the Thor: Love and Thunder screening in London in July)
Before Taika, Rita romanced a string of big names, starting back in her pre-fame years.
Before either of them shot to super stardom Rita dated Bruno Mars at the age of 18, later saying: ‘It was love at first sight.’
‘We met in 2009. I was 18 and starting out at Roc Nation. Bruno was unknown back then too. He was a struggling songwriter hired to write songs for me. I thought: ‘Wow, that’s just the world’s greatest guy!”
After Bruno, the singer dated reality star Rob Kardashian for two months from October 2012 before ending their brief romance due to her ‘hectic work schedule’ and their incompatible lifestyles.
She then had high-profile relationships with the likes of DJ Calvin Harris, musician Andrew Watt and designer Tommy Hilfiger’s son Ricky.
Rita has also enjoyed flings with rapper A$AP Rocky, actor Andrew Garfield and rocker Travis Barker.
RITA ORA’S ROMANCE HISTORY
BRUNO MARS 2009 – 2011
Before either of them shot to fame Rita dated Bruno Mars at the age of 18, later saying: ‘It was love at first sight.’
‘We met in 2009. I was 18 and starting out at Roc Nation. Bruno was unknown back then too.
‘He was a struggling songwriter hired to write songs for me. I thought: “Wow, that’s just the world’s greatest guy!”‘
ROB KARDASHIAN 2012
The singer dated reality star Rob for two months from October 2012 before ending their brief romance due to her ‘hectic work schedule’ and their incompatible lifestyles.
And she admits to forgetting she even dated the sock designer because the fleeting relationship was ‘very short-lived’.
The end of their brief romance coincided with a series of bitter social medial posts from Rob, who indirectly suggested the singer had cheated on him numerous times during their relationship.
Rita and Calvin Harris
CALVIN HARRIS 2013 – 2014
Calvin and Rita were linked in Spring 2013 with the pair dating for about a year.
The DJ and Rita had a romantic and professional relationship, collaborating on Rita’s number one smash hit I Will Never Let You Down.
Rita is said to have been left rather red-faced after learning that her relationship was over via Twitter.
The Scottish DJ took to the social networking site to announce the couple’s year-long romance was over, but it was claimed the I Will Never Let You Down hitmaker was unaware her beau was going to release the statement.
RICKY HIL 2014 – 2015
Rita and Tommy Hilfiger’s son, Ricky Hil, confirmed their relationship in August 2014, only to split after 14 months of the on/off romance.
A$AP ROCKY 2015
Rocky had a fling with Rita in 2015. The rapper later sparked controversy when he included explicit lyrics about his rumoured ex in his single Better Things.
ASAP – whose real name is Rakim Mayers – later admitted his comments about Rita were ‘tasteless’.
TRAVIS BARKER 2015
Rita had a month-long fling with Kourtney Kardashian’s now husband in the Autumn of 2015. It’s rumoured that Travis put the breaks on the romance due to not wanting to be in a ‘serious relationship’.
Rita and Andrew Watt
ANDREW WATT 2016 – 2017
Rita enjoyed a year-long romance with fellow musician Andrew in 2016, before splitting, with the star revealing her single status during an appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show.
ANDREW GARFIELD 2018
The singer and the Hollywood actor had a steamy four month fling before Andrew called time on their fling for a ‘more private life’, with Rita returning to Watt for a brief reconciliation after the Garfield split.
ROMAIN GAVRAS 2020 – 2021
The French director, who is based in London and directed music videos for US rappers Kanye West and Jay Z, began dating Rita following her split from Andrew.
The pair enjoyed a whirlwind romance during their brief relationship with exotic holidays in Ibiza and Corfu.
In October 2020, the pair sparked engagement rumours when Rita was seen wearing a huge rock on a her engagement finger.
A source close to Rita told MailOnline said of their breakup: ‘Rita and Romain tried to make it work but they both agreed it wasn’t meant to be. They remain close but it was simply impossible to maintain a relationship where they barely saw each other.
‘And given both their busy schedules for 2021, the writing was very much on the wall towards the end of last year.’
Rita and Romain went their separate ways weeks after her Covid rule breaking 30th birthday party at a Notting Hill restaurant on November 21 2020.
A spokeswoman for Romain, 39, confirmed to MailOnline: ‘Rita and Romain split up months ago because of difficulties with their respective work commitments. They remain close friends.’
TAIKA WAITITI 2020 – PRESENT
The couple began dating in March 2021 after meeting in Australia, ands were said to be moving so fast in their relationship they started discussing marriage within months, a source told New Idea.
Source: Read Full Article