Gavin Rossdale's former boyfriend Marilyn is glad he has been "honest" about their relationship.

The 80s pop star is relieved Gavin - who is now married to Gwen Stefani - has finally been open about their romance after refusing to confirm it for years.

Marilyn said: "I am pleased that Gavin is finally able to be honest about our relationship. I just wish he could have come to terms with this 15 years ago.

"I find it sad that when I spoke about what we had, I was labelled a tattletale and now Gavin is using it to promote himself."

The now 47-year-old singer hopes Gavin's wife Gwen - with whom he has two children, Kingston, four, and Zuma, two - will eventually be able to come to terms with her husband's homosexual past.

He told America's In Touch magazine: "Maybe one day Gwen will allow my name to be spoken again in her home without it having any negative connotations."

Speaking last year, Marilyn - real name Peter Robinson - described Gavin as the "love of his life", but accepted he has moved on.

He said: "Gavin and Gwen are perfect for each other, but he was the love of my life."

Earlier this week, the 44-year-old Bush frontman admitted the romance and also claimed he never intended for it to be secret for so long.

Gavin - who also has a daughter, model Daisy Lowe, from a previous relationship - said: "I've never wanted to appear closed about it. It's not something I've talked about really because it's always been in the glare of a tabloid world. It's just one of those things - move on.

"When you're 17, Jesus Christ, I don't think there's anything strange about any form of anything - you're learning about life."