Selina King-Daly & Gavan Daly

February 2026 Issue

by Edwina Hoyle
Photos submitted by Selina King-Daly

 

Selina King-Daly was a 16-year-old teenager when she decided Gavan Daly would become her husband. Young love is often infatuation, especially when you are star-struck by a musician, but Selina followed her heart. Gavan was playing in his family’s cover band, Daly Planet, when Selina fell in love. Selina told her mother she was going to marry Gavan, and naturally, her mother told her she was too young to decide that.

Selina joked that she began stalking Gavan. She went to the play “Nunsense” where Gavan was dressed as a priest playing music behind a screen. She and her best friend were band groupies, and both were actually “stalking” a band member. One day Gavan saw Selina dancing on the stage and said, “That’s the girl stalking me.”

Gavan and Selina met at Java Joe’s in Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head Island and started hanging out. They became inseparable. Selina moved to New York for college; Gavan eventually followed her.

Their careers took off—Gavan as a musician, artist, and tattooist, and Selina in the world of fashion.

Selina attended New York City’s prestigious Parsons School of Design and worked in the corporate fashion industry but didn’t really enjoy it, so she started selling vintage clothing to high-end clients like Natalie Portman. The death of a friend made her question her life. “Why was I doing a job I don’t like?” she thought. “I had started making jewelry like my father had. I was learning on my own, but went back to study metalsmithing, first in Savannah and then in California. Now I’m working in diamonds.”

Gavan performed with the New York Philharmonic and with artists Mary J. Blige, Ricky Skaggs, Roseanne Cash and other big names. He is a guitarist, lead vocalist, and has been described as a skilled auto harpist. In total, he plays seven instruments. But he too changed directions and established himself as one of the country’s preeminent tattoo artists.

“We both made it in New York City,” Selina said. “It’s a tricky life style, but we supported each other in our art. There were lots of tears, and it takes a lot to stand apart and be in a very unique relationship. We are best friends, and we feed off each other.”

Gavan added, “It’s rare for people to have a good, strong relationship. It’s not going to work if you are competitive or jealous. You should try to find someone at the level that you love your mom, your father, your grandmother. Devote your life to each other. People can be selfish. Compromise if you must have a career to satisfy your soul. And if you both can change, you have to have humility. The willingness to sacrifice for each other is rare. We devote our life to each other. Putting our own needs first can be a downfall.”

“We started as kids and grew up together. You have to invest in and maintain your relationship. We have fun together and keep the relationship fresh and interesting,” Selina said. Thirty years later, they are still married!

Last fall, at ages 46 and 51, Selina and Gavan’s relationship became much more interesting with the birth of their first child, Jesup Theodore.

“We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and God,” Gavan said. “We pray. God has blessed us. We lost one pregnancy. We believe in miracles. I live a spiritual life, and Selina reminds me that she believes if you do good things, good things will come back to you. She is a person who is a walking example of Him. What you put out, you get back.”

Selina said, “Having a baby is an emotional and spiritual surprise.” What she wants for Jesup is for him to be a good person.

Her parents had a great impact on her by showing love and selflessness. “We have been caregivers for both of our mothers, and I cared for my father since I was 8 years old,” Selina said. “Being caregivers has prepared us to be parents.”

Gavan added, “I just want him to be happy. I want him to dream. I want him to love himself but know God.”

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Up Close:

• Gavan is also a songwriter. He released a song dedicated to his mother, Sheila, titled, “Shaina Tibel” (meaning “Pretty Bird”
in Yiddish).

• An iconic tattoo artist, Gavan is known internationally as Knarly Gav.

• Gavan loves playing music and swimming in the ocean all year long.

• Thrifting is one of Selina’s favorite things to do.

• Selina performed as a prison inmate in the television series, Orange is the New Black.

• Gavan’s words of wisdom: “You can’t outsmart love.”

• Selina’s words of wisdom: “Never give up on love or art. Take a chance on yourself. You will never know if you don’t try.”