Former child star Gary Coleman – who`s now 40 – married Shannon Price, whom he`d met on a movie set, last Aug. 28, her 22nd birthday, Coleman reveals to Inside Edition.
Gary Coleman Reveals His Secret Marriage
Gary Coleman, the 40-year-old star of Diff’rent Strokes, speaks exclusively with INSIDE EDITION in a two part interview about his secret wedding to 22-year-old Shannon Price.
Coleman tells INSIDE EDITION the couple married secretly on August 28, 2007 on a Nevada mountaintop after meeting on the set of one of Coleman’s movies.
The ceremony was extremely intimate.
Coleman says, “Nobody was around but the minister, preacher, the videographers, the photographer, the helicopter pilot and us. That was all that was there. There was nobody else.”
Price, who actually proposed to Coleman, tells INSIDE EDITION he surprised her with their wedding on her 22nd birthday.
“I didn’t know that I was going to be in a helicopter ride and seeing the Grand Canyon and getting married in the Valley of Fire. I had no clue,” says the blushing bride.
“I mean I knew that we were getting married, but I thought it would be just a little chapel.”
Coleman, who is only 4’8” tall, admits that this is the first “romantic relationship” he has participated in.
“I never got the opportunity to be romantic or feel romantic with anyone...I wasn’t saving myself, she just happened to be the one.”
Price, who stands over 5’7” tall, tells INSIDE EDITION height was never a factor in their relationship.
“He was ten feet tall to me because he was sweet and I really liked his personality.
That doesn’t really matter to me.”
Coleman echoes Price’s sentiment when it comes to their age difference telling INSIDE EDITION, “I don’t have issues with age, I have issues with intelligence...She’s more intelligent then I am and that’s what matters to me.”
The couple also shares the reason they say they kept their marriage a secret.
Price says, “I just want my own identity as well because I don’t want to be known as Gary Coleman’s wife.”
Her proud husband agrees.
“I wouldn’t want that in a million years. I wouldn’t want you to be known as Gary Coleman’s wife. I hope you do get successful. She’s a great eBay-er. She’s a fabulous eBay-er. I hope she gets famous for that.”
Price, who sells Coleman’s memorabilia on eBay, admits to INSIDE EDITION that she did not know who Coleman was when she met him on the set of Churchball.
“He was really sweet and I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t grow up with Diff’rent Strokes. I actually didn’t like watching TV when I was younger.”
Price and Coleman tell INSIDE EDITION the honeymoon stage of their marriage has waned with Price describing the relationship as “off and on.”
“We may go a week and not speak to each other, but that’s because you’re thinking and mulling things over,” says Coleman.
Price explains, saying, “Yeah, I’ve locked myself in a room and stayed there because I’m like, ‘You know what? I don’t even want to fight over this, its ridiculous.”
Price admits on several occasions the fights have gone beyond yelling.
“He lets his anger conquer him sometimes, I don’t like the violence, I really don’t...He throws things around, and sometimes he throws it in my direction...He’s got to damage something before his anger stops.”
Coleman explains to INSIDE EDITION why he threw a printer on the morning of his interview with the television show.
“I threw the printer because my agent wanted to send me a fax, and it wouldn’t fax, and she (Price) was upset at me over something that I had done.
And I just took that printer and said, ‘You know what, you just need to die.’”
According to Price, she has had to call the police on several occasions.
“He actually got a disorderly conduct ticket one time because we had gotten into an argument, just a minor argument in Provo. The guy gave him a ticket and he freaked out and he was on six months probation...He had to go take an anger.