Rachel Stevens’ ex husband Alex Bourne is expecting his first child with his new wife Lily – three years after his split from the S Club 7 singer.
The real estate tycoon, aged 47, got married to art dealer Lily, aged 31, at Lime Kiln lodges in East Sussex in February. Their family and friends were present to celebrate their special day.
And on Sunday, Lily took to Instagram in a shared post with her new husband to announce her pregnancy.
She shared a carousel of snaps from spring, but two included her growing baby bump.
‘A new chapter,’ she captioned the snaps – as her baby bump could be seen as she went for a stroll with a bunch of flowers.
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Rachel Stevens’ ex husband Alex Bourne is expecting his first child with his new wife Lily – three years after his split from the S Club 7 singer
On Sunday, Lily took to Instagram in a shared post with her new husband to announce their pregnancy with a sweet shot of her blossoming baby bump
‘A new chapter,’ she captioned the snaps – as her baby bump could be seen as she went for a stroll with a bunch of flowers
Rachel, a former member of S Club, aged 46, made a public announcement in July 2022 about her separation from her long-time partner, Alex. This revelation came just a month before what would have been their 13th anniversary.
Alex and Lily then got engaged last summer on Hampstead Heath after meeting earlier that year.
Rachel and Alex’s two daughters, Amelie, 12, and Minnie, nine, were both bridesmaids at the ceremony.
Rachel herself has also found love with Dancing On Ice skater Brendyn Hatfield, going official in November 2023 after first being paired together on the ITV show.
She did not appear to be in attendance at the wedding.
Lily looked stunning in a bespoke lace gown in snaps shared to both of their Instagram accounts from the big day.
They penned in the caption: ‘A little more from our big day. Still on cloud ☁️ 9.
‘Words can’t begin to describe our happiness. Thank you to all of our family and friends for being there on our special day.’
Last June, Alex gushed about his girlfriend at the time Lily and confessed that he would like to get married again one day.
S Club star Rachel, 46, announced she had separated from her childhood sweetheart in July 2022, just one month shy of their 13-year anniversary (pictured in 2011)
Rachel has since found love with Dancing On Ice skater Brendyn Hatfield, going official in November 2023 after first being paired together on the ITV show (pictured)
He said: ‘I’m very grateful for what I have in life. My new partner is a wonderful person and she works in art. She’s a beautiful person inside and out.
‘I’m a very open-hearted person and I think love is an amazing thing. I’ve got a wonderful partner and incredible family and a business that I’m proud of.
‘Why not get remarried one day? I’m a romantic and a passionate person and I think life is about loving.’
He also opened-up for the first time about his ‘terrifying’ split from Rachel.
Alex admitted that he struggled during the early stages of their separation, especially navigating co-parenting.
But the former actor insisted that he and Rachel are now on good terms, having moved on with new partners, who their two daughters ‘adore’.
Alex, who is co-founder and director of London House, explained: ‘It was terrifying at the start and it’s not easy – and maybe I am making it all happy families – but we’ve handled it really well. I guess we are a blended family and I’m totally cool with it.
‘I’m happily in a relationship and have a supportive partner, who my kids absolutely adore. Both myself and my ex-wife are in happy relationships 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, genuinely want us to be happy and we are.’
Alex married his new wife Lily in a romantic ceremony in February
Lily looked stunning in a bespoke lace gown in snaps shared to both of their Instagram accounts from the big day
The prime real estate agent, who co-founded prime real estate agency London House, added that the former couple had worked to ‘avoid animosity’ with introducing their new partners.
He said: ‘We were very grown up about the whole introducing partners thing. Everything has been handled with a lot of sensitivity and respect and that avoids animosity and unhappiness.
‘Our children are everything and all we want is for them to be happy.’
Alex’s candidness came a week after Rachel lifted the lid on their separation during an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, comparing it to ‘jumping off a cliff.’
She admitted: ‘It’s a lot of navigating, especially with the girls because they’ve always been at the forefront.
‘I’m very lucky, their dad is a great dad and we’ve always been so aligned with keeping them really safe in it and being really honest.
‘We’ve had great advice on how to age-appropriately speak to them and help them feel safe in it all, because that was my biggest fear – how they are going to be in all of this.’
She continued: ‘You’re changing your life. It’s not only a marriage it’s a family around it, it’s your friendship groups, your home, your children.
‘Changing your whole life, for me it felt like jumping off a cliff, like wow, it’s the unknown.
‘But I’ve always believed that we have to be happy, we have to be true to ourselves and it’s not something you decide overnight, it’s something that takes so much thought and questioning.
‘I haven’t talked about it a lot publicly because I’m so mindful of everyone involved.’
Rachel and Alex’s two daughters, Amelie, 12, and Minnie, nine, were both in attendance at the wedding and were both bridesmaids
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.
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 do’.
Discussing her new relationship with Brendyn, Rachel went on: ‘We’ve just been really mindful and thoughtful of everyone involved and it was a very slow process, but when you go through growth in your life, you change and your outlook on life changes.
‘You realise this is what I need, this is what I want, this is what I deserve. And everything is new and it all just kind of happens.’
She added: ‘It all just evolves and it’s not black and white, it’s just an amazing growth experience.’
Last year Rachel revealed how falling for Brendyn led to her ‘messy’ split from Alex, with their marriage already on the rocks.
Speaking to The Sun she admitted: ‘[The split] was messy. I knew that we were growing, that I was growing apart, but I was in turmoil, because first of all my kids’.
The former couple were childhood sweethearts and reconnected in the mid-2000s when Rachel was launching her solo career and Alex was trying to make it as an actor in LA (pictured in 2017)
Rachel went on to recall how she felt telling now ex-husband Alex about Brendyn admitting: ‘It was really scary, because I knew as soon as I said that, that was it.’
It was in July 2022 that Rachel announced on Instagram that she had split from her husband of 12 years.
Insisting they would be keeping things amicable, she 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.
‘While we 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.
‘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.’
