Rachel Stevens admits she’s still grieving the end of her marriage and is struggling with the news that her ex-husband is expecting a baby with his new partner
Rachel Stevens has admitted she is still grieving the end of her marriage three years after splitting from property mogul husband Alex Bourne.
The 47-year-old star of S Club Seven was married to Alex, the father of her two children, for five years before divorcing in 2022 and dated her Dancing on Ice co-star Brendyn Hatfield.
But Rachel and pro skater Brendyn, 40, split last month and her ex-husband Alex is now set to have a baby with his art dealer wife Lily, 31.
Now the singer has admitted that she had a hard time coming to terms with the end of her previous relationship because she buried her feelings.
HELLO! we are talking with Second Act Rachel explained: ‘From some days to the next, some days you feel empowered, you feel like, ‘Yeah, I got this,’ and other days you just feel like you want to cry and hide under the covers.
‘I ended my marriage and then got into another long relationship and I don’t know if I’ve ever truly suffered the loss of my marriage. ‘I constantly felt like my nervous system was in fight or flight.’
Rachel Stevens admits she’s still grieving the end of her marriage, three years after splitting from property mogul husband Alex Bourne
The S Club Seven star, 47, was married to Alex, the father of her two children, for five years before divorcing in 2022 (pictured in 2011)
He continued: ‘For a long time I put on a smile and showed up and became who I thought I was meant to be, and along the way I got very lost.
‘And now after the real experience of divorce, as a parent, I’m suddenly having to build those foundations along with the heartbreak. I [put a lid on my feelings] and I kind of numbed myself because the emotions were so overwhelming.
‘When I feel something very emotional, I withdraw, I isolate myself; so I’m learning to really reach out and be kind and compassionate to myself. ‘I don’t have to be anything other than what I am.’
Even though Rachel is newly single, she has not given up on love as she is still a ‘hopeless romantic’.
She said: ‘I’ve always been a relationship girl. I am a very romantic person and I love love. I want that movie love. [I’m] A hopeless romantic.’
The singer admitted he is looking forward to turning 50 in a few years, adding: ‘You should celebrate every year. I love the power of being wise and more emotionally mature.
‘[Going forward] I want to trust and believe in myself. However, this is a work in progress; We never arrived. You can do your best every day.’
Former couple Rachel and Alex were childhood sweethearts and reconnected in the mid-2000s when Rachel was starting her solo career and Alex was still trying to make it as an actor in Los Angeles.
He went on to date his Dancing on Ice co-star Brendyn Hatfield (pictured), whom he split from last month, and ex-husband Alex is not ready to have a baby with his new wife Lily, 31.
She said: ‘I ended my marriage and then got into another long relationship and I don’t know if I’ve ever truly suffered the loss of my marriage. I constantly felt like my nervous system was in fight or flight.
They got engaged in June 2008 after 18 months of dating and married at Claridge’s in London the following year.
The pair walked down the aisle to S Club 7’s hit Never Had A Dream Come True and bandmates Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Jo O’Meara, Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole and Tina Barrett were there to watch them say ‘I do’.
Rachel announced her split from childhood sweetheart Alex in July 2022, just a month shy of their 13th anniversary.
Alex and his new wife Lily got engaged on Hampstead Heath last summer after meeting earlier that year.
Rachel and Alex’s two daughters, Amelie, 12, and Minnie, 9, attended the wedding and were both bridesmaids.
Rachel found love again with Dancing On Ice skater Brendyn, who made it official in November 2023 after they were first paired on the ITV show.
The two have since gone their separate ways last month.
