Israeli singer Yehoram Gaon got married on Tuesday at the age of 86 to his partner of fifteen years, Ella Lusa, age 55, in an intimate gathering of close friends and family.
The couple reportedly first met on Facebook, after Lusa sent Gaon a message as a fan of his work. The two began talking on Skype, eventually met in person, and started dating.
Lusa had immigrated to Israel from Latvia in 2001, and reportedly learned Hebrew through Gaon's music and television shows.
The ceremony was conducted by Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar, alongside Rabbi Yaakov Chikotay, and Rabbi Ezra Bar-Shalom, both of whom are sons-in-law of former Sephardi chief rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, who officiated at Gaon's first wedding.
Gaon's first marriage to a 17-year-old
Gaon was first married in 1977, at the age of 38. The Sentinel reported at the time that the wedding was delayed by four months because Orna Goldfarb, Gaon's first wife, was still 16.
The Rabbinate refused to grant Gaon special dispensation to marry her at that age, and so the two were married after Goldfarb turned 17. The couple had two children together and divorced nine years later.
A documentary on Gaon's life premiered at the Docu.Text Festival in August at the National Library of Israel. The movie, directed by Kobi Faraj and Morris Ben-Mayor, was produced by United King Films, Alma Films, Samis Foundation, and both the Hot and Yes television networks.