S Club’s Rachel Stevens says she’s ‘grown and evolved’ since height of fame

Rachel Stevens was undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of the late 1990s and early 2000s thanks to her role as one-seventh of the BRIT-winning pop group, S Club 7 . By 2002, the group had 10 UK Top 10 singles, four albums and their BBC sitcom Miami 7. Meanwhile, Rachel’s fame was also reaching new heights due to her well-publicised relationship with Jeremy Edwards. The 45-year-old was engaged to the Holby City actor from 2002 and they were the it-couple of their day, even predicted to be the next David and Victoria Beckham . Reflecting on that time, Rachel told Express.co.uk : ‘I don’t really remember that really, I’m not a massive fan of labels of any kind whatsoever. ‘I just think when you are in the moment of something, you’re just in it aren’t you and I feel like as you get older, you learn, you grow, you change, you evolve, and you realise things. Rachel Stevens and actor Jeremy Edwards were engaged from 2002 until 2004. (Image: Getty) ‘It’s hard to put it into words, there is so much change that goes on. So, it was a very amazing time to be in it and I definitely learned so much about myself since then.’ Rachel and Jeremy confirmed they had parted ways in 2004 explaining that although the split was ‘sad’ it was ‘the right’ decision. The breakdown of their relationship was reportedly sparked by Jeremy’s struggle to cope with the tragic death of his Holby City co-star, Laura Sadler. He told Heat at the time: ‘It was a tough time for me…I was drinking a hell of a lot and got seriously depressed. S Club will begin their tour next month. Hannah Spearritt pulled out after Paul Cattermole’s death. (Image: Getty) “It really shook me up. Losing such a close friend pushed me off the rails and sadly Rachel got caught up in my mess. It was at this point she confronted me about my problems and we agreed to have a break.”As Rachel, Jo O’Meara, Tina Barrett, Jon Lee and Bradley McIntosh get ready to go on their long-awaited S Club reunion tour, Rachel shared whether she is glad she experienced the height of her fame 20 years ago as opposed to now.She said: ‘I think it is all relative, I think you just get used to what you know and you adapt and go with what is going on at the time. ‘I do think it was incredible to be in pop music at that time, it was a very special time and it will never be like that again because everything is always moving and changing. ‘Everything was so fast it was like a whirlwind. We were quite unique to other bands because we had our TV show so when we were promoting a single or album, we’d be doing all the TV shows and the radio tours which was so huge then.’We’d then be off in LA, Miami, wherever we were in the world filming the series, so it was just constantly going, going, going. It was incredible but it was a whirlwind.’S Club will kick off their Good Times tour on October 12 in Manchester. They will then visit cities including Liverpool, Newcastle, Cardiff and London before taking the show to the United States in November. Hannah Spearritt pulled out of the tour in May following the death of her bandmate and former fiance, Paul Cattermole .