On September 3, 2004, TF1 launched the broadcast of season 4 of “Star Academy”. For nearly four months, 18 candidates including Lucie, Hoda, Grégory, Sofiane, Karima, Émilie, Gauthier, Harlem, Sandy, John or even Francesca competed by linking live performances with huge stars and evaluations in front of the teachers, in the famous castle of Dammarie-les-Lys.
Thus, on December 22 of the same year, Grégory Lemarchal, emblematic candidate known for his fight against cystic fibrosis, won the show, thus snatching the victory from his friend Lucie Bernardoni. If the young man tragically died of his illness in 2007, Lucie Bernardoni recently made the headlines. 18 years after having occupied the castle of Dammarie-les-Lys, the pretty brunette, now 36 years old, has made her comeback there to give some precious advice… to the new inhabitants of the famous building. Last September, the show made its big comeback on TF1 to the delight of fans of telecrochets.
Married to Patrice Maktav, candidate for the first season of the “Star Academy”, Lucie Bernardoni comes against all odds to reveal that Grégory Lemarchal, her sidekick and confidant, was more than just a friend during their stay at the castle. This is indeed what the singer said this Sunday, July 16, 2023, while she participated in the podcast entitled “With or without sugar”, by Inès Vandamme.
Lucie Bernardoni as a couple with Grégory Lemarchal during season 4 of Star Academy
“Today, looking back, I can say that the day Grégory died, a part of me died too. He wasn’t my friend, I loved him. I never said that. I’m tired of lying all the time. We didn’t stay together long, but it was wonderful, he was my great love” she confessed almost twenty years after they met. At the time, Lucie Bernardoni was 17 years old, and Grégory Lemarchal was 21 years old and she explains that she had an “intense” and “complicated” story with the young man.
In an interview with Maxime Guény, Lucie Bernardoni had already given a little hint about this relationship by explaining that she had a love affair within the castle. “Everything that happened at the castle stays at the castle. It was a great story. I will never say with whom, but yes, I fell very in love in the castle“. As a reminder, at the end of the show, Grégory Lemarchal had started a relationship with the host Karine Ferry who had been by his side until his death in 2007.
ES