Rachel Stevens has opened up about the breakdown of her marriage to ex-husband Alex Bourne, as she admitted she deliberately ‘isolated’ herself from him to avoid heartbreak.
The S Club star, 46, announced her split from her high school sweetheart, 47, in July 2022, just a month before their 13th anniversary.
And now, just over two years after their split, the singer has confessed that she was so afraid of being hurt that she didn’t allow herself to get “too close” to Alex during her relationship.
Rachel appeared on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast and candidly explained how her behavior stemmed the breakdown of her relationship with her father.
She told the presenter: ‘When my parents split it really shook my world. It was like the rug was pulled from under my feet; not only the divorce, but also my relationship with my father.
Rachel Stevens has revealed she ‘isolated’ herself from her ex-husband Alex Bourne during their 13-year marriage due to fears of getting ‘too close’
The S Club star, 46, announced her split from her high school sweetheart, 47, in July 2022, just a month before their 13-year anniversary (pictured in 2011)
“Everything I thought was sacred, real, and true to me was ripped away overnight.
“So from then on, and I think the things that led up to that, I learned to build these protections so high that it took me so many years to bring them down.
“My protection was to never let myself get too close and never let my guard down.”
The star continued, “A lot of that stems from the breakdown of my relationship with my dad, because I absolutely idolized him growing up, and then it changed overnight.
‘Then I had that moment of, “Oh my God.” From that moment on it was just: keep going and don’t let anyone in too much, because you can’t get that heartbreak anymore.
“If you do that, you isolate yourself from real love and connections and keep everything very small and I did that for a very long time.
“It’s been years and years of trying to unravel all that and get through it.”
The former couple were childhood sweethearts and reconnected in the mid-2000s when Rachel was launching her solo career and Alex was still trying to make it as an actor in Los Angeles.
Appearing on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast, Rachel candidly explained how her behavior stemmed from the breakdown of her relationship with her father (pictured at the Attitude Awards on Wednesday night)
She told the presenter: ‘If you do that you isolate yourself from real love and connections and keep everything very small and I did that for a very long time’
Rachel has since found love with Dancing On Ice skater Brendyn Hatfield, who became official in November after first being linked on the ITV show
They got engaged in June 2008 after 18 months of dating and tied the knot 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 her bandmates – Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Jo O’Meara, Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole and Tina Barrett – were there to watch them say: “I’ll do it.” ‘.
Rachel has since found love with Dancing On Ice skater Brendyn Hatfield, who became official in November after first being linked on the ITV show and struck up a friendship in early 2022.
Alex opened up about his “terrifying” split from the singer for the first time in June, when he admitted he was struggling during the early stages of their divorce, especially dealing with co-parenting.
But the former actor insisted he and Rachel are now on good terms after moving on with new partners, who ‘adore’ their two daughters, Amelie, 12, and Minnie, nine.
Alex, co-founder and director of London House, explained: “It was scary at first and it’s not easy – and maybe I’ll make all of them happy families – but we’ve handled it really well. I think we are a blended family and I’m totally cool with it.
The former couple were childhood sweethearts and reconnected in the mid-2000s when Rachel was launching her solo career and Alex was still trying to make it as an actor in Los Angeles (pictured in 2009).
Alex first opened up about his “terrifying” split from the singer in June, when he admitted he struggled during the early stages of their divorce, especially navigating co-parenting.
‘I am in a happy relationship and have a supportive partner, who my children absolutely love. Both myself and my ex-wife are in a happy relationship and we are very supportive of each other.
‘My children are such kind, loving people, who I am very proud of, so they made it easy to introduce them. They really, really want us to be happy, and we are.”
The estate agent, who co-founded estate agency London House, added that the former couple had tried to “avoid hostility” when introducing their new partners.
He said: ‘We were very mature about the whole introducing partners thing. Everything has been treated with great feeling and respect, which prevents hostility and unhappiness.
“Our children are everything and all we want is for them to be happy.”