Tears will be definitely be falling at Sophie Simmonsâ wedding to James Henderson.
Page Six exclusively caught up with Gene Simmons at his Rock & Brews restaurant in El Segundo, Calif., over the weekend, where he shared details about his daughterâs upcoming nuptials â and how he reacted to the recent engagement news.
âWe were in Zürich [Switzerland] and Sophie and James, her potential husband, were there,â the KISS rocker, 73, joked, stating that nothingâs official until they âcross the finish line.â
âBut in Zürich, Sophie literally said, âCan we go out, onto the nice sunset and everything? Letâs take a family photo,ââ he recalled.
âI said, âSure.â And as I was posing, James dropped to his knees and I [gasped].â
Gene revealed that Sophie will say âI doâ early next year at one of the familyâs properties in Malibu, Calif., with a reception to follow.
âFebruary, sheâs getting married,â the âGene Simmons: Family Jewelsâ alum â who also shares son Nick Simmons with wife Shannon Tweed â told us.
âIâm not ready. One second sheâs just a pair of cheeks with little legs walking around. Next second, sheâs a grown woman,â he gushed. âIâm not ready. But itâs happening. Sheâs getting married and heâs a great guy.â
Gene further joked that Sophie and Henderson have âbeen living together for eight years⦠in sin!â and that his daughterâs fiancé has his work cut out for him.
âSheâs going to make an honest man out of him,â he said. âHe doesnât know what heâs in for because Sophie wears the pants there. Heâll find out, yeah.â
Sophie announced she was engaged to Henderson one day ahead of her 30th birthday on July 7 via a series of posts shared to Instagram.
âNo birthday can top this,â she wrote on her Stories at the time, later posting a black-and-white pic of her massive sparkler to her feed. ââthis is the timeâ ð.â
In addition to wedding planning with his family, Gene has also been busy with KISSâ âEnd of the Road World Tour,â described as the legendary rock bandâs âfinal tour ever.â
âWe love the fans, and we donât want to stay on stage too long, but weâre having the time of our lives,â explained the âRock and Roll All Niteâ singer, who is touring with Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer.
âWe added another 100 cities, but at the end of that, no more touring.â
Some fans on social media have jokingly referred to it as the ânever ending world tourâ â seeing as itâs been ongoing since Jan. 31, 2019 â but Gene assured us it has an end date.
âI know where and when, but Iâm not [revealing yet],â he teased. âI do know the last day and date. But you donât want to find out what youâre getting for Christmas as a present in July, right?â
Gene co-founded KISS with Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in the early 1970s. The original group members previously embarked on a âFarewell Tourâ from March 2000 to April 2001.
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âWe were honest about it. It wasnât a trickery or anything,â he told Page Six of he and Stanleyâs decision to continue performing after that tour wrapped. âWe had the original guys, Ace and Peter, who were not performing up to snuff. It had to do with drugs and alcohol. I donât want to sugarcoat it.
âWe decided, at that point, we should probably end it. I donât want to be up on stage and do a lackluster show,â he added. âAnd then as we were about to stop, the fans were saying, âWhy donât you just replace them, like a football team?â We thought about it for a while and we said, âYeah!â We originally thought we canât exist without those guys, but you can. You know, a divorce is heartbreaking, but youâll get over it.â
Gene spoke to Page Six in honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 11. The bassist greeted veterans â as well as members of the army, military and first responders â at his Rock & Brews restaurant on Friday, treating them to free meals as a thank you for their service.
âWhat weâre doing here is doing what every American should be doing, and thatâs honoring the vets. Thatâs what itâs all about,â explained Gene, who was born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel, to Jewish immigrants from Hungary. âToday is Veterans Day, but as far as Iâm concerned, every day should be Veterans Day, because you donât risk your life in your job, I donât risk my life at my job, what I do. But vets literally less risk their lives every single day.
âWe honor those who have served. We honor the vets who will serve and are currently serving. And you got to remember, all of them gave some. Some of them sadly gave all, the ultimate sacrifice,â he continued.
âAmericaâs got to wake up. And donât shy away from the word patriotism. Patriotism doesnât confine itself to a political point of view. Itâs literally human beings who, in some cases, give the ultimate sacrifice â their lives â so that you can complain about a bad hair day or the traffic jam. Patriotism is a good word. Honor it.â
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