A missed night bus home led to 38 years together: meet Charles and Camilla  | LOVE


14 Feb 2020
In partnership with
Interview by

Couple number four in our new series, #LOVESTORIES with Gucci Beauty is Camilla Lowther and Charles Aboah, who first met in 1982 after Charles missed the night bus home from a fashion show. What’s the one thing Camilla and Charles argue about? Charles’ binge addiction to watching ‘Love Island’ in bed, she’d rather watch “an old black-and-white film."

Camilla Lowther

LOVE: How long have you and Charles been together?

Camilla Lowther: Since the 20th of July, well on and off since the 20th of July. We met on the 20th in 19...hang on. We met during the Falklands War. 1982 I met Charles. He got it wrong he said it was 1983 but it was it was actually 1982. I don't even know how long ago that is.

LOVE: Do you remember the first time you saw him and what he was wearing?

CL: He was wearing a yellow chippy jacket. He was wearing a yellow chippy jacket and I thought he was really sexy.

LOVE: Do you remember the first thing he said?

CL: Hello. I think he said, 'Hello, I'm Charles Aboah', and he came round because I was going to take a Polaroid of him for a fashion show. Actually, the reason I met Charles, I was working for Lindy Woodhead and she wanted me to do this fashion show for the Berkeley Square Ball, which happened on the evening of the 19th of July 1982. And they said they wanted 'It' girls, 'It girls’ were debutantes' basically, so I got all my girlfriends to model in it. Then they suddenly announced that they wanted blokes and I didn't really know any men particularly. So I needed a few extra men and my friend Charlotte Duffy back then said to me that she knew this really handsome boy that's working as a chef. And so she made him come to have his picture taken.

LOVE: When did the relationship kick off?

CL: Charles missed the night bus after the fashion show.

LOVE: Do you remember who made the first move?

CL: No, no I don't.

LOVE: Do you remember the first kiss?

CL: Ooh, I kind of do. Yeah, and I fancied him.

LOVE: What are your favourite attributes about Charles?

CL: I love the fact that he is so handsome, no, joking, but he's my best friend. He's a real support. He's my best support, I love him.

LOVE: Do you remember there being a time when you realised that you loved him? Was there a specific time or was it gradual?

CL: No, no, I think I knew when I met him. It just took quite a long time for us to get it together. I knew that he was going to be somebody special in my life. I don't know if I knew if I was going to marry him or have two children with him because I mean one doesn't really think about that kind of thing when you're that young. But I definitely knew he was going to be special in my life.

LOVE: Out of all his brilliant attributes and traits, is there one that you wish he had more confidence in?

CL: No, I don't think so actually. I mean, I'd probably have to think about that I don't know. He's a truly amazing father. To be really honest with you I mean, if I’m being totally honest, I think that if Charles, if he'd been pushing forward with a career as much as I had, when we were young and having children, I think it would have been quite difficult for us, because, to have both of us thrusting ahead and kind of having a career and really like working and you've got children, it's very difficult if one of you is not around. So, the times that I needed to be away, he was very much around, and I don’t know if I could have achieved half of what I achieved with CLM, without him being there part of the time. That doesn’t really answer your question. I know it doesn’t. But I kind of feel, therefore I don’t think that he did lack any confidence because what’s been so amazing about Charles is that he’s always chosen to be around when he was needed. Do you know what I mean? I mean it's a partnership and, you know, obviously we've stumbled over the way with the partnership but on the whole, we’ve managed to sort it out.

LOVE: What are your petty arguments about?

CL: Yea, him watching Love Island in bed. He loves all that crap TV and I hate it, and I want to watch a movie, or I want to turn the telly off, and we have some quite fucking annoying rows about having to listen to Love Island in bed. And picking up his pants off the floor. Yea, you know, picking up the laundry. Men must have this theory that they just get out their clothes and they just leave them all over the place. I love having my own bathroom now.

LOVE: If there was a smell to sum up Charles, what would it be?

CL: Oh, that's such an interesting, erm what’s the smell, it’s kind of like a warm smell, what is it? It's like a kind of spiced chili, kind of spicy smell. I would say it was musky but it's not really musky because I don't really like that smell of musk. It's just a smell of, it smells of him, it’s a Charles smell. It’s like a kind of warm smell, and that's the really weird thing, but it's a kind of warm, deep, warm smell.

LOVE: What makes you such a good couple?

CL: I don't know. Some people would say we’re not. We bicker, I mean we’re terrible bickerers. I suppose we’re really good friends. I think we have a, you know, we like doing the same things on the whole, apart from the Love Island and the football and arriving at the airport, but on the whole, we quite like doing the same things. And also, and then we probably let each other do what we're good at. You know, I run the diary because he can’t do a diary for love nor money. I think we play to each other's strengths, rather than our weaknesses.

Also watch: Charles Aboah relives his youth on the dance floor

Charles Aboah

LOVE: What's your name and how long you and Camilla been together?

Charles Aboah: Charles Aboah, and we met in 1981 so pushing about 35 years. Shall we calculate it? It's 39 years.

LOVE: Do you remember the first time you saw Camilla?

CA: She lives in Caroline Terrace in Chelsea and I worked with a very good friend of hers, my oldest friend, called Charlotte Duffy and we all worked together. She introduced me to Camilla because Camilla needed some boys, some men to do some modeling. There used to be this annual event that used to take place called the Berkeley Square Ball, so she needed some men. And so reluctantly, eventually, having been told 'you've got to meet my friend, she needs models' I was pressurized and then did the show. And then we met.

LOVE: When did the relationship kick off?

CA: The relationship sort of kicked off straight away really. We became very, very good friends. We did the show which was amazing.

LOVE: What did she look like? Do you remember what she was wearing?

CA: She had a yellow chippy jacket on when I first met her. And funnily enough, I had a yellow chippy jacket, so it was really weird, and she had bright red hair. Her hair was a lot redder than it is these days and she was quite cute.

LOVE: Who made the first move?

CA: I think it was a mutual actually. We sort of fell into it. I mean Camilla will tell you, she always tells this story, she goes 'ah yes he missed the night bus'. Her storyline on this is always, 'oh yes, Charles missed the night bus' and the rest is history.

LOVE: And then do you remember your first kiss?

CA: I suppose it was maybe that night I missed the night bus? No, I don't actually remember the actual kiss, it was such a long time ago but I imagine it was then.

LOVE: What are your favorite attributes about Camilla?

CA: My favorite, well several attributes actually, is that she's very strong. I like that. She works really hard. And she's very caring and adorable.

LOVE: Do you remember the first time you realised you loved her?

CA: Yes because when we met, although we were seeing each other, we weren't seeing each other. Sort of like she had a boyfriend. We were young, she probably had several boyfriends, I had a girlfriend and we would go off, come back and we would see each other. And then I think as the years went by, not too long, but as years went by, it became a bit more serious. And we sort of knew that this was the person that we wanted to be with, with full commitment and grew up. We started seeing each other more seriously than before. And then we had Adwoa, and then we had Kesewa, and then we got married.

LOVE: Out of all of her brilliant attributes, is there one thing you wish she had more confidence in?

CA: In herself.

LOVE: Just as a whole?

CA: Yeah, self-confidence. Sometimes she beats herself up a little bit. She comes across as very very strong but sometimes she can be quite vulnerable and needs assurance, but I think that one's like everyone else.

LOVE: What are your most petty arguments about?

CA: Quite a few, most the time over nothing. Probably being told about 20 times about something that I need to do. Being told that we have to go to the airport for a 10 o'clock flight, but we go there for six o'clock because Camilla is got phobia about missing flights.

LOVE: If there was a smell to sum up Camilla what would it be?

CA: Comforting.

LOVE: What makes you such a good couple?

CA: We're such a good team and we bounce off each other. And I think we can read each other, it's a multitude of things. We look after each other we care for each other.

Also read: Alessandro Michele's 5 most ingenious moments at Gucci

Film by Robbie Mailer-Howat
Fashion editor Charles Jeffrey
Interview by Harriet Verney
Featuring Camilla Lowther and Charles Aboah
Hair Martin Cullen
Make-up Lucy Bridge
Manicure Adam Slee
All fashion from Gucci Spring/Summer 2020