Rachel Stevens and her husband Alex Bourne have separated, the singer announced Friday.
Former S Club 7 star Rachel, 44, used her Instagram stories to inform her fans of the sad news.
She wrote, “I just wanted to share with all of you that after time and consideration, the difficult decision has been made for Alex and I to separate.
End of the road: Rachel Stevens, 44, and her husband Alex Bourne have separated, the singer announced on Friday
“Even though we are no longer couples in marriage, we will continue to be the parents of our beautiful girls and we will continue to love and respect each other.
“I feel incredibly grateful for the life we have built together and I will now continue to focus on moving forward together as a family.”
The couple was to celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary next month.
Milestone: The couple was to celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary next month (pictured 2011)
Change: Former S Club 7 star Rachel used her Instagram stories to inform her fans of the sad news
Rachel and Alex, who were childhood sweethearts, were married at Claridge’s in London in 2009.
The couple walked down the aisle until the success of S Club 7 Never Had A Dream Come True and their bandmates – Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Jo O’Meara, Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole and Tina Barrett – were there. to see them say, ‘Yes.’
Rachel and Alex share two children, Amelie, 11, and Minnie, eight.
Rachel recently talked about reuniting with her childhood sweetheart, Alex.
The former pop star talked about her defining moments in her life as she remembered encountering her ex-boyfriend “chance” repeatedly.
Love Story: Rachel Stevens talked about reuniting with her childhood sweetheart whom she later married on Roxie Nafousi’s podcast The Moments That Made Me on Wednesday
Rachel detailed how it was “as if they were turning to each other” on Roxie Nafousi’s podcast The Moments That Made Me.
She said, “We were childhood sweethearts. We went out with each other when we were 12, we met at the youth club and I was delighted with it!
“We probably went out about four weeks and when you got that age it was very long!”
The blonde beauty explained how the couple used to be in the same social groups growing up together in north London.
Beloved: The former S Club 7 star sprang up over his partner Alex Bourne, 44, whom he married in 2009 (pictured in 2017)
Detailing his love story, he continued, “Then we had dates again when we were 16 and then when we were 18 and then we broke up, you know, obviously I left and I did mine, he left and he went do your thing.
“Years and years later, I was at Selfridges at random and he came in and we bumped into each other.
“We were both twenty and, strangely, he said as he entered: I know I’ll see you, I knew I’d see …”
Unfortunately, the timing was not for the couple, as Rachel had just come out of a long-term relationship and Alex had a girlfriend at the time.
Happy ending: 43-year-old woman talks about her final moments in life as she remembers bumping into her ex-boyfriend “random” repeatedly
Loves: Rachel said, “We went out with each other when we were 12, we met at the youth club and I was delighted with him! We probably went out for about four weeks.”
She explained, “It was lovely to see him as an old friend and from that moment on we kept playing at random.
“His relationship with his girlfriend ended and then I left for LA and he was an actor at the time, so he also went out to LA.
“Then we rekindled our relationship!
“Then it was a pretty random meeting and then, like we ran into each other at random, it was like we were pulling together again.”
Growing up: the blonde beauty (pictured at age 20 performing at S Club 7) explained how the couple used to be in the same social groups growing up together in north London
Kickback: Rachel detailed how it was “as if they were throwing each other” on Roxie Nafousi’s podcast The Moments That Made Me
Rachel admitted that after reviving their romance, she knew Alex was “the only one,” but said they took their relationship slowly, adding “the rest is history.”
Rachel and Alex welcomed two daughters Amelie, 11, and Minnie, eight.
The singer revealed last month that she is “full of pride” and believes her daughter Amelie has “found her career” after playing a major role in the West End.
She confessed that she could not stop crying while watching her eldest son perform for the first time – in a role she has decided not to reveal – and will use her own experience in the industry to “guide” her as a mentor.
Family: Rachel and Alex welcomed two daughters Amelie, 11, and Minnie, eight (both pictured)
Rachel stated that Amelie is “following in her footsteps” and loves to sing, as her “heart beat” during the “special” moment in an exclusive interview with MailOnline.
She said, “I’m always singing, always, and so are my kids.” We are in a very musical house and no doubt my daughter is following in my footsteps.
“It would help me to be there to ask for advice and guide it for sure, but now it’s a very different world, music is like a completely different industry to when I was there.
“She’s on a show in the West End right now, so she’s starting her journey and I’m very proud of her. She really likes it and has found her career.”
Fame game: Rachel was successful with the pop group S Club 7 (clockwise LR Rachel, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Tina Barrett, Bradley McIntosh, Hanah Spearritt, Jo O’Meara)