Talking Heads Frontman David Byrne Announces Engagement

David Byrne, the 73-year-old lead singer of Talking Heads, has quietly confirmed his engagement to Mala Gaonkar, 55, after nearly a decade of dating. The couple met in 2016 while collaborating on a production for The Makers series at Stanford Arts Institute and live together in New York. Byrne revealed the engagement during an interview about his upcoming album, Who Is The Sky?, referring to Gaonkar as his fiancée and sharing a humorous anecdote about her smearing his face with lotion. He also highlighted a deeper message about societal judgments based on appearance. Both have been previously married; Byrne was married to Adelle Lutz, with whom he shares a daughter, while Gaonkar was married to financier Oliver Haarmann. Over the years, they have appeared together at various public events, including film premieres and award ceremonies.