Rachel Stevens and Alex Bourne have called it quits. After more than a decade of marriage, the couple has decided to divorce. The singer and TV personality, who was a member of the pop group S Club 7 between 1999 and 2003, announced the end of her relationship with her estranged husband in a Friday, July 1 Instagram Stories update.
In a message to fans, the S Club 7 star wrote, “I just wanted to share with you all that after time and consideration the difficult decision has been made for Alex and I to separate.” Stevens went on to share that while she and Bourne “are no longer partners in marriage, we will remain partners in parenthood to our beautiful girls and continue with love and respect for each other.” The former couple are parents to daughters Amelie, 11, and Minnie, 8. She concluded the post by writing, “I feel so incredibly grateful for the life we built together and will now continue to be focused on moving forward united as a family.” At this time, Bourne has not publicly addressed the divorce.
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Stevens and Bourne married in 2009 after having been childhood sweethearts. Opening up about their relationship during a previous appearance on Loose Women, Stevens revealed, per The Mirror, that she and Bourne “were boyfriend and girlfriend when we were 12. We were boyfriend and girlfriend on and off during our teens until I got into the band, and he went off and did his stuff.” The former couple rekindled their romance years later when they “bumped into each other randomly in our late twenties… We obviously had all of that history and now, the rest is history.”
The former couple said “I do” Claridge’s in 2009. According to Hello! Magazine, Stevens walked down the aisle to her own S Club 7 hit, “I’ve Never Had A Dream Come True” with her former S Club 7 bandmates in attendance. Stevens and Bourne went on to welcome their first child, Amelie, in 2010, with younger sister Minnie arriving in 2014. The former couple was set to celebrate their 13-year wedding anniversary in August.
Following the initial announcement that she and Bourne decided to go their separate ways, Stevens returned to social media on Sunday, July 3 with a message of gratitude for her fans. On her Instagram Story, the star wrote, “I just wanted to say thank you so much for all your messages of love and support. It means so much [heart emoji].”
