I was 45
and he was 29.
We met in a French medieval village called Bruniquel
And after four days of debate I decided to go out with him.
I couldn't resist him.
He was the most extraordinary partner I have ever had.
He was a—
I am so nervous!
Okay so, let me look at somebody I know here.
He was a painter and a sculptor.
He loved Roman architecture
and he was building his own house with a patio,
and a fountain in the middle, with columns.
He loved nature.
He taught me the names
and the properties of trees,
and plants, and flowers.
He was an outstanding musician.
He had created his own style of music.
That was flamenco music and Irish music put together.
And when he played that music,
it had delicious
indecent effects on me.
Everything about him was exceptional.
I couldn't believe that a man of his age,
and beauty and talent could be free
and even more, be interested in a woman of my age.
As time went by,
he was more and more exceptional.
I couldn't understand really what was happening.
We traveled a lot,
we went to a lot of festivals
where he performed with his group called "Kill the Dog".
He use to play Irish music.
We used to go up and climb in these old churches,
he use to have this key ring with old keys
that would go into any church.
And I'd open,
then we'd sneak inside and look at the paintings
and I always wanted to make love in there.
So he started calling me "puerquito"
that means "little pig" in Spanish
because he said I was defiling
all the holy places of France.
But he never said no,
so I called him "puerquito" too.
There was one thing that was very peculiar about him
and that is when he looked at children,
his eyes would just beam and glow.
And one day it suddenly dawned on me and I said
"Jean Michel, do you want to have children?"
And he said, "Yes of course".
I would of plugged him into the sun,
he just beamed.
And at that moment I just said "Oh my God"
Oh my God.
My heart just stopped.
You ever seen Iron Man when he puts on his suit.
It was— (mechanical noises)
That was my heart,
I just barricaded my heart.
My heart stopped.
I knew it was the end,
at that moment, I knew that it was the end.
You see, I had had two children of my own,
they were already grown up.
I loved my freedom and I loved my life.
And for nothing in the world
was I going to deprive that human being
from living the experience of having children.
I went home and I cried all night long.
And the next day I left him,
but it wasn't over.
For three and a half years,
Jean Michel and I would struggle to go our separate ways.
We would struggle to talk sense into ourselves.
And in his folly,
he was ready to give up his dream
and I was ready to give him kids.
But we both knew that it just wasn't possible.
We could not do this.
We shouldn't do this.
We shouldn't sacrifice our lives in such a way.
So I began
bringing girlfriends to our outings
in hopes that he would look at them.
but he would never look at them.
I really didn't know what to do.
We couldn't stay away from one another.
We'd cry and just didn't know what to do.
Our friends didn't understand us,
our families even less.
And time was ticking,
I was almost 50.
And then one day,
I was sitting in a terrace in Toulouse drinking.
And suddenly she walked by.
It was magical, irreasonable,
it was powerful.
I could feel her essence.
She had red hair,
she was wearing a velour hat.
It was a Victorian hat,
it was a little bit crushed, soft.
She was the most beautiful thing
walking on two pair of legs.
And I walked up to her and started a conversation with her.
She was an author for children's books.
And for four weeks,
I entertained a unique relationship with her.
Until the day that I invited her to come and see
and meet my friend Jean Michel.
When they crossed,
when their eyes met
and I saw his smile
I knew that it was good.
It was good.
I had arranged for a girlfriend to call me
and tell me there was an emergency so that I could leave.
He knew, he knew.
And I hugged him,
he hugged me,
he wouldn't let me go.
He said to me,
"Don't leave me".
I just said, "Just be free,
"make your dreams come true.
"Be free, even without me just be free".
So I turned around to never return.
I walked away.
They called me the next day,
they called me dozens of times.
I change my phone.
I moved away.
And I didn't see him for four years
until one day I took the phone
and I picked up the phone and called him
and told him I was coming.
He was exposing in a nearby village.
And as I walked into the gallery
I saw that four years had gone by.
And this beautiful little red head came running out
with curly hair and she ran towards me
as if she had known me all her life.
With her beautiful green eyes
and she said to me in French said
"C'est toi la fée?
C'est toi la fée?"
That means—
"Are you the fairy?"