Following more than two decades of dating, Halestorm vocalist Lzzy Hale opens up about her relationship with bandmate Joe Hottinger.
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While performing at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles last month, Hale revealed why she and Hottinger don’t talk about their relationship publicly.
“For those of you who have just met us, I know there’s a lot of different dynamics and things, but Joe and I are together, and we have been for 22 years,” she explained on stage. “Like Joe was saying earlier in the night, when we met, we had never met anyone like each other.”
She then said, “You actually wanna sit till four in the morning and manifest our dreams and make them into reality. And so we were hanging out all the time, and I’m, like, ‘Man, it sucks that he’s in the band.’ That’s a big no-no.”
Hale then recalled Hoffington telling her she didn’t want the group to end up like Fleetwood Mac. “What you wanna do is Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo,” the singer continued. She was referring to the couple who’ve been married and performing together for decades.
Halestorm Fans Have Suspected Hale and Hottinger Have Been Dating All Along
Although this was the first time Hale had mentioned the relationship, Halestorm fans have long suspected the bandmates were romantically linked.
Blabbermouth reported that Hale seemingly hinted there was a relationship during a Q&A Twitter session in 2020. When asked if she was married to Hottinger, Hale responded, “Technically, I was asked.”
She then noted that she didn’t want to get married because she’s “living a #newmodernlove.”
Lzzy co-founded Halestorm alongside her brother, Aejay, in 1997. Hottinger joined the group as guitar and backup vocals in 2003.
Continuing to speak about the relationship on stage, Lzzy declared, “You can’t predict those things. So we had these very adult conversations, like, ‘Well, if we…’ ‘Cause we were very immaturely flirting. We were flirting, but pretending we’re not.”
Despite the concerns, Hale and Hottinger took the chance. “But no, we made the decision, we’re, like, ‘If we don’t try this, then we could be losing out on something too.'”
“Because I will tell you over the last 22 years, there is nothing like having all of these firsts and chasing your dream,” she added. “Doing the thing that you love with the person you love.”