My wife accepts my craziness--JEFF

SOURCE

By Gerald Goh
The New Paper
Friday, Jan 13, 2012

Behind every rejuvenated man is a woman.
US pop singer Jeff Timmons, a founding member of the once popular 90s US boy band 98 Degrees, counts wife Amanda as the stabilising force in his life. They first met while she was on holiday in Los Angeles three years ago. They were married the day before Thanksgiving in 2010 and held another wedding in Las Vegas last September.
The couple had a daughter two months ago.
The 38-year-old told The New Paper over the phone from Las Vegas: "We're going to get married again every year.
"When I first talked to Amanda, I was absolutely smitten. At that point, I was very sceptical when it came to love.
"With Amanda it's totally different. I admit I didn't really know what I was doing in my first marriage (to ex-wife Trisha Sperry).
Timmons shares custody of his two children, daughter Alyssa and son Jeffrey Jr, with Sperry.
He gushed: "Amanda's really accepting of all my idiosyncrasies and craziness. It really helps that she's totally into my music as well, because artistes need support, period."
He continued: "For example, in the middle of the night, you might get a surge of creative inspiration and have to get up to get it down on paper, otherwise you'd forget it.
"Amanda understands that and the fact that I won't ever have a nine-to-five job."
From May to September last year, Timmons was a guest star with the Chippendales male song-and-dance strip act, which performs nightly at the Las Vegas Rio Hotel and Casino.
Timmons said: "Amanda was there to see me perform every night. "I was feeling quite shy about being topless on stage, but her attitude could not be more different than mine.
"She really encouraged me to be sexy and spontaneous, and helped me be disciplined enough to stay in shape for the show."
Timmons will perform with British-Norwegian boyband a1 and British boy band Blue on The Greatest Hits Tour concert here next month.
It's the first time Timmons is in Singapore as a solo act.
98 Degrees was last here in 1998 to perform at the Culture Club.
He said: "I've never met either band, but obviously I know them by reputation... I think it will be great performing with them."
Timmon's journey from his 98 Degrees heyday has been long and often painful.
The quartet also comprised brothers Nick and Drew Lachey and Justin Jeffre.
He admitted: "I'd been stumbling, more or less, in the past 10 years.
"When the era of boy bands came to an end in the early 2000s, there was a very big backlash, and 98Degrees got caught up in that, despite the fact that I considered us to be more of a vocal group."
98 Degrees last performed together live in 2001 at Madison Square Garden in New York for the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special. He said: "We've talked very much about getting back together, but it's difficult to fit everybody's schedules in.
"Nick had become a star (on reality TV show Newlyweds: Nick And Jessica) in 2003, and we were all busy doing our own things. "In fact, between 2004 and 2009, I was doing a whole lot of nothing.
"I wasn't really succeeding musically and I just wasn't in a good place." He added: "The Chippendales gig gave me real confidence. The Greatest Hits Tour is the perfect opportunity. I feel like my identity has evolved. I've got my own distinct sound and writing style.
"I'll definitely be performing a whole lot of 98 Degrees hits (which include I Do, This Gift and My Everything).
"Now that I'm singing solo, I'll just carbon copy Nick, Drew and Justin's voices on stage," he joked.
Timmons nevertheless confessed to having nerves about performing 98 Degrees songs live on stage after so many years.
He said: "Can I carry it on my own? Maybe not like how we used to do it as 98 Degrees, but I'll give it my best shot.
"Blue, a1 and I guarantee a show that will knock the audience's socks off."
What: The Greatest Hits Tour: Blue, a1 and Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees
Where: Singapore Indoor Stadium
When: Feb 28, 8pm TICKETS: $168, $148, $128, $108 and $88 from Sistic (www.sistic.com.sg or 6348 5555)
"I was feeling quite shy about being topless on stage, but her attitude could not be more different than mine." - Jeff Timmons on the support he got from his wife to guest star with the Chippendales
This article was first published in The New Paper.