Luke Goss split from his wife three years ago

Reflecting a road trip he made to the desert in 2017, he said: “I was in a bad place in my life and decided to go camping alone.

“I packed my car in Beverly Hills and headed east towards a beautiful location called Joshua Tree, where U2 found inspiration for their album The Joshua Tree…

“I was fed up with being followed around by a film crew, and I was still getting over the death of my mum three years earlier.

“Worst of all, I’d just split from my wife. I’ve never admitted to this publicly but she moved back to England to be closer to her daughter and family.

“We are officially separated now but still best friends. I will love her to my dying day.”

The 52-year-old musician admitted it was a “hard step” to split from Shirley and not only do they speak regularly, he still loves her very much.

He told Sunday Times magazine: “There were only a few tents and yurts. Nobody else was around, so I played songs around my camp fire and wrote a little book, called ‘Desert Conversation’.

“I thought a lot about Shirley. She’s the most remarkable woman I have ever met, which is one reason why splitting up was such a hard step.

“Our love has never wavered — she is a wonderful person and I miss her dearly. She wanted to be in the UK, closer to where her daughter lives, and she has dreams of her own to pursue. We speak on the phone all the time but living close to your family is important and I respect that.”

And Luke can’t wait to go and visit her in the UK.

He added: “We both made the choice to be legally separated. There was absolutely no discord — just the combined love of two people who have been together for 33 years. I’m dying to get back and visit.”