Who is April Lynn Kirkwood? 'The Golden Bachelor' star claims she lost her virginity to 'The Four Seasons' singer Frankie Valli at 16
PORT ST LUCIE, FLORIDA: April Lynn Kirkwood, a contestant on the upcoming show 'The Golden Bachelor' and a therapist, has opened up about her long affair with singer Frankie Valli, which apparently began when she was just 16.
She is set to appear in the new senior-citizen spinoff show of the Bachelor Nation, where women will battle for the heart of a retired restaurateur, Gerry Turner.
'The Golden Bachelor' hopeful April, now a Florida native, revealed her relationship with the 'Four Seasons' singer in her book 'Big Girls Do Cry: My Love Affair With Frankie Valli', according to The New York Post.
April Lynn Kirkwood recalls how her affair with Frankie Valli started
April Lynn Kirkwood was a fan of Frankie Valli since she was six years old and accompanied her mother and aunt to his concerts. They'd apparently sneak their way backstage, and April would run for the musician, who would take her up and carry her around as she clung to him.
She alleges to have lost her virginity to Frankie in a hotel room when she was still a teenager. "He was 23 years older than me," she explained, adding, "That first night was sad. I had never seen a naked man before. I was like, 'Oh, my God. What did I just do?'"
April said that after she got intimate with Frankie, he instructed her, "Now don't do this with anyone else," before asking her to go home as it was too late.
"I was smart enough to go, 'Can I have your phone number?'," she explained, adding, "And, of course, he gave me his manager's number."
April's mother, who was waiting for her, asked, "Did you have a good time?" when she returned home, along with, "Did you see Frankie at all?"
"Yeah, mom. Thanks for letting me go. Night. Love you," replied 'The Golden Bachelor' hopeful.
According to her, she continued to see Frankie, traveling to various towns and states to be with him, with their romance lasting decades before coming to an end.
"It never crossed my mind that I was his Ohio groupie, his hookup, his lay on the road," writes April in her book. ,
She claims to have been trapped on a tour bus with no doors, only draperies, expecting to have sex with Frankie while his bandmates and crew listened.
Frankie would ask her to board a bus or a plane — always coach — to meet him in locations like Akron, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse, staying in Holiday Inns or sometimes Hiltons. April never asked why he never flew her to San Francisco, Chicago, or New York City.
He was ignorant and unrefined, but she admired everything about him: the way he piled french fries on top of his burger and smashed it all together between the buns, the gold chains and velvet suits, and his demands that she stay attractive and never say too much.
Did Frankie Valli cheat on 'The Golden Bachelor' contestant April Lynn Kirkwood?
The musician was still married when April Lynn Kirkwood and Frankie Valli were having an affair, but he later got divorced.
As a result, she fantasized about marrying him one day, which would never happen. When a new record was released, she knew the next Mrs Valli had already been selected, a blonde beauty named MaryAnn Hannigan.
April claims she bleached her hair right away to be more appealing to the musician.
Even after a night together in Syracuse, when Frankie nonchalantly lit a cigarette right after sex and stated, "By the way, I think I'm going to marry my girlfriend," April never lost hope that she would be the one.
While the singer apparently walked around the room naked, she listened to his constant rants about his spouses or girlfriends.
Frankie declined to visit her after learning about the book. He was the love of April's life, but he never cared about her, as per 'The Golden Bachelor' hopeful.
'The Golden Bachelor' star April Lynn Kirkwood's mother put her on birth control during her affair with Frankie Valli
Even at the age of six, April Lynn Kirkwood remembers loving 'The Four Seasons' more than anything else, and her mother and aunt would take her to performances, chatting their way backstage.
Not long later, while still in high school in her hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, April requested her mother to drive her an hour to Akron, where Frankie Valli had summoned her to board the tour bus.
Her mother apparently immediately started April on birth control.
"I'll never forget what my mother said to him that day: 'Take care of my daughter'," recalls April, adding, "He respectfully shook her hand."
'The Golden Bachelor' hopeful holds the opinion that her mother had the mistaken belief that Frankie was her daughter's ticket out of a small Ohio town and away from the poultry farm where they were living with her grandmother and many aunts.
As per April, her mother had been molested as a child and suffered from mental illness, with her parents splitting when she was four years old.
She stated, "My mother was so twisted in her own pain that she would've done anything to get me out of there."
Who was 'The Golden Bachelor' contestant April Lynn Kirkwood married to?
April Lynn Kirkwood, for her part, sought men who reminded her of Frankie Valli, whom she refers to as "substitutes for Mr Valli," and was once married to a person named Billy.
Neither of the husbands had a chance, as April was solely concerned about Frankie and what she might do to persuade him that she was deserving.
"I did anything — not just sexually," stated 'The Golden Bachelor' star, adding, "That he wanted, because deep in my heart, I believed I would one day be the next Mrs. Frankie Valli."
April was 19 and was supposed to meet Frankie in Hawaii when he vanished from her life.
Five years have gone by, and she was living with Frankie's replacement, a man named Billy when the singer unexpectedly summoned her to Chicago.
She was so overjoyed that she went to Saks and bought outfits and lingerie she couldn't afford before rushing to the airport and traveling coach from Ohio.
April apparently spent two nights after the concert with Frankie until her boyfriend arrived. She was enraged, as was Frankie, who kicked her out.
She grieved the whole way home, feeling more confined than ever: she was in a tiny flat in an Ohio suburb, living with an 18-year-old boy, certain beyond all reason that he had wrecked her greatest shot at becoming the wealthy, well-respected wife of a legend.
A few days later, Frankie called and said, "Work on your marriage with your husband," along with, "Maybe we will talk again soon."
April slipped into severe despair after realizing she'd never heard from him again and was unable to get out of bed for days.
She ultimately married Billy, had two children with him, and they divorced over 20 years later.
Her conviction that she would never see Frankie again was misplaced as she started meeting up with him on the road over 15 years later, in 1995.
Frankie would whine to April after sex about his current wife, Randy Clohessy, who was 26 years younger than him. During this time, she informed him about her new boyfriend, Ron, another married Frankie lookalike.
What is April Lynn Kirkwood looking for on 'The Golden Bachelor'?
April Lynn Kirkwood is raring to go with the Golden Bachelor into the sunset.
With her love for life, lively demeanor, and exceptionally tight family, it's easy to understand why April is such a good catch. She communicates with them on a regular basis and makes a point of exchanging "I love yous" with them.
Dating since losing her partner has been tough for her, but April is looking forward to the opportunity of a lifetime to hunt for love with 'The Golden Bachelor'.
April enjoys dancing to Taylor Swift, watching 'Bridgerton', and playing with her two dogs when she is not spending time with her children and grandchildren. Moreover, she is not frightened of thrills and enjoys a good roller coaster.
ABC's 'The Golden Bachelor' premieres on September 28 at 8 pm PT and ET. The episodes will be available on Hulu the next day after they air every Thursday on ABC.