Born in London in 1983, Jack Savoretti is a singer-songwriter who has released eight albums. He married the artist Jemma Powell in 2010. Powell grew up in Sussex and worked as an actor, appearing in films including The Hole and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Her new exhibition, with Mary West, Through the Eyes of the Eagle, is at the Chancery Rosewood hotel in London until 18 July. Savoretti tours his new album, We Will Always Be the Way We Were, throughout 2026. They live in Oxfordshire with their three children.

Jemma

Jack and I had just met and were permanently attached to each other’s faces. It was the first music video of his I’d been in – I was an actor at the time, and furious that he was always auditioning my friends and not me. It took me getting a casting call for a Paolo Nutini video for him to panic and finally give me a part.

I was madly in love with Jack. I was mad, full stop. After meeting him, I lost the plot. We would have crazy fights, mainly centring around the intensity of how we felt about each other. We were young creatives trying to make our way in the world and really believed in each other. I’d go to his gigs in pubs and when people would walk in and say, “Who’s this guy?” I would reply, “He’s amazing. He’s going to be huge!” He was being rejected a lot, but I was – and still am – his number one fan.

We first met at a party. I got chatting to this lovely girl called Beatrice, and when I saw Jack come in, I said to her, “There’s a guy over there who I think is so gorgeous.” It turned out it was her brother. Jack and I hung out that night, and the next week he came to see me in the cafe I worked in. I remember being so red that I had to hug him so he couldn’t tell how embarrassed I was. He left, but I didn’t have his number so I visited the studio he was writing in. I knocked on the door of every single room and asked, “Is Jack here? He’s a singer, he’s Italian.” No one knew who he was, and I ended up getting fired from my cafe job as I’d told them I’d gone to post a letter but disappeared for too long.

Thankfully, I got his number from a mutual friend, and our wild romance continued until we had our first child, six months after we got married. That’s not to say our marriage is always calm. It’s often in a state of flux. There are times when he’s winning and needs to be strong for me, then it all switches around. There was a point a few years ago when Jack was having a midlife crisis. He wasn’t happy. I ended up saying, “Whatever’s going on here, it’s not working for you.” After that he snapped out of it.

Jack’s most annoying trait is that he is a sulker. It can last for three days sometimes and I feel it in my body, in my cells, because silence is toxic. He used to say I was too detached. The problem was I gave up drinking for two years and became Mrs Perfect. A bit sanctimonious. I was the handbag finder at the end of the party and felt very proud of myself. Fortunately for him, I’ll drink now and again.

We have three kids, four dogs and a cat, so we have to make time for romance. I’ll sometimes make his favourite meal – some kind of pasta, a pomodoro or pesto. He did like my ragu but he’s gone off it a bit. It helps that we giggle a lot together, too.

Jack and I both work at home, at opposite ends, our creative spaces bookending the house. We constantly give each other feedback, and sometimes he’ll ask, “Can I play you something?” and I’ll reply, “I’ve heard it all day. I can sing it for you if you like?”

Even after all these years, I feel the same as I did in that picture. Only instead of being deranged, I am full of pride that those two crazy kids settled down and built a life together.

Jack

We were trying to capture a day in our life for the video for my song Dr Frankenstein. That kiss wasn’t a suggestion from the director. It was a genuine moment. I must have had great chat, because I somehow got away with that choker.

The night I met Jemma, I was very hungover from a boys’ weekend. I needed to go home, but when she walked in I thought, “There you are. The mother of my children. My future.” My sister said, “Did you see that girl that was sitting next to me? She thinks you’re really cute.”

When we were introduced, I asked what her job was, and she replied, “I’m a fairy.” I thought she was being eccentric, as it was a party filled with actors – a lot of dramatic people. She then explained she was an out of work actor who also did parties for kids. That answer was refreshing and in that moment I lost it completely for her.

I was already recording my first album when we got together, but all the songs after that are written about Jemma. Harder Than Easy was the first track about our relationship – we got in a fight on an easyJet to Ibiza and I wrote it on the plane. What was the fight about? Our love was never enough, and we always needed more from each other. She was three years older and wanted romantic dinner dates, whereas I wanted to spend time with her and all my friends. We were the couple who were constantly causing drama. Everybody’s night was entertained and sometimes ruined by our fireworks. It still flickers every now and then, but the fire is never fully out.

When Jemma got pregnant, there was a dramatic change. She became a woman and her self-esteem was no longer dependent on anyone else. Having a family also changed how we related to each other’s roles. There was a time where I was away a lot on tour, but I wanted to be at home with the kids. Meanwhile, she wanted to see the world. We both knew there was a bit of resentment forming.

Then she got a big acting job in Rome [the thriller series Devils] and went away for three weeks, with Patrick Dempsey and Alessandro Borghi, two of the most beautiful men on the planet. I didn’t mind. Once our situations were reversed, the mutual respect we had for each other had grown.

Part of the reason our marriage has lasted is that we started when we were young. There’s a naivety that helps in the long run. When we met, my attitude was: let’s not wait until we are cynical, let’s figure it out as we go along. Another part is knowing when to give space and leave the other person to their own devices. It’s also important to be realistic about the ups and downs of marriage. To truly love each other, you have to hate each other. My advice is: find someone you can hate, because falling in love is easy.

Nobody back then, including us, would think that 20 years later we’d be where we are now. We’re still very much choosing to be in love. We have three awesome kids. We are blessed. We did it – and we’re still doing it.