Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes was the frontman and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album Savage Garden peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in United Kingdom and No. 3 in United States.
In 2013, Hayes relocated from London to Los Angeles, where he began to pursue a career in improv sketch comedy and acting.
Hayes was born on 8 May 1972 in Brisbane, Australia. He is the youngest of three children. His early childhood was difficult, marked by his father's alcoholism and domestic violence. His father became abstinent when Hayes was aged 11.
He started performing for his mother in his lounge room from an early age. At Mabel Park High School, Hayes appeared in the school musicals Man of Steel (playing Jimmy Olsen) in 1988 and Bye, Bye, Birdie (playing Albert) in 1989. He also sang at school concerts before graduating in 1989.
At school, Hayes was bullied and physically and verbally abused.
Hayes married a childhood sweetheart, makeup artist Colby Taylor, in 1994.
They separated in 1998 and were divorced in 2000. Much of the lyrics for the band's second album, Affirmation, dealt with his divorce.
Hayes started coming out as gay to friends and the head of his label, Sony, in the early 2000s.
He married (via a civil partnership) his boyfriend of two years, Richard Cullen, on 19 June 2006 in London.
Hayes and Cullen applied for a marriage licence in California, and were married on 15 July 2013, to show their support for those fighting for same-sex marriage rights.
Hayes and Cullen currently live in the United States. Though public speculation about his sexual orientation had been present throughout his career, he is famous for keeping his personal life private.
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