Liza still loves David

Liza Minnelli has spoken for the first time about the break-up of her marriage to David Gest.

The couple announced their split last week - only 16 months after a star-studded wedding ceremony in New York.

Gest, 50, flew to Hawaii following the break-up - while veteran performer Minnelli hid in a Beverly Hills hotel.

However, she has now broken her silence and insists she still cares deeply about Gest who has repeatedly denied rumours that he is gay. She revealed that she was coping with the situation by concentrating on her work.

On an American TV programme, Minnelli, 57, said: "You must understand that it all sounds dramatic, but when you care about each other like me and my husband care about each other, there are things that you do not tell and that is why people make up bad things.

"You realise that there are a lot of people that really care about you, and you realise that everyone is born with the same feelings and same stresses and the same everything."

She added: "You just do your job and you just all get through it and keep going. We do our job and I like my job. You do what

you do." The couple's $4 million (£2.5 million) wedding was one of the most bizarre in entertainment history.

Michael Jackson gave Minnelli away, while eighttimes married Elizabeth Taylor was her maid of honour. But the lasting image of the ceremony was Gest's "goldfish" kiss for Minnelli after they exchanged vows.

Gest was credited with bringing her back from the brink after she fought an addiction to painkillers and also encouraged her to lose weight.

The pair later agreed to let VH1 cameras to film them for a fly-on-the-wall documentary. But the show was axed in November after programmemakers claimed they had not been given enough cooperation by the pair.