Inside S Club 7 stars Hannah and Paul's heartbreaking romance and why they split

12 October 2023 , 16:00

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British pop group S Club 7 have reunited to tour today, without two of their original members (Image: Getty Images)

Iconic nineties band S Club kick off with their reunion tour tonight at Manchester's AO Arena, though two of the original singers will not be joining the five-piece group on stage. Paul Cattermole tragically died, aged 46, in April this year, just weeks on from the band announcing plans to tour the country to celebrate their 25-year anniversary.

The remaining members have all been mourning Paul's death and plan to include touching tributes to him throughout the tour - which has been named Good Times after his solo song. Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Jon Lee, Rachel Stevens, and Tina Barrett will also take to the stage without original member Hannah Spearritt.

Hannah and Paul were friends for years before they fell for one another and started dating in secret (REX/Shutterstock)

The S Club 7 couple were not meant to be together and split despite trying to rekindle the romance (Getty Images)

Hannah, 42, was there in February when the tour was announced, but fans learned in July that she was not in the line-up. The reason for this is not known publicly. Jon previously stated "it's a conversation for Hannah to have" but stressed "we've got loads of stuff" happening in the future so the door is always open for her. Tina added how "nothing bad" happened but everyone just needs their own space.

Hannah's tell-all book titled Facing The Music hits the shelves today. Speaking ahead of the launch, mum-of-two Hannah told The Sun: "I've not spoken to any of them since I left, which is fine. I'm really sad we aren't in touch. They've gone their way and I've gone mine. I wish them all the best." She added: "Will I ever ­perform with them again? I just don't know. I'm glad that the tour is still going ahead and the songs will live on, but now I'm looking ­forward, not backwards."

Hannah and Paul met as teens at the National Youth Music Theatre in London and became friends. It wasn't until they went on a group skiing trip to America that Hannah realised she'd developed feelings for Paul. She later recalled feeling 'jealous' when seeing Paul 'flirting with anyone else', and confessed they shared a 'drunken snog' before things developed. Hannah said the pair were 'sneaking around' for six months, staying at each other's apartments, before they came clean to their bandmates.

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After Paul's death earlier this year, Hannah said he was her 'first true love' and she's glad they became friends (Getty Images)

She told The Sun after Paul's death: "Their reaction was, 'Yeah, we knew something was happening.' But they were all really happy for us. Then we broke it to the management team." Singer Hannah said their fans 'got used' to the idea of the pair dating and their romance was even written into their show. She described their love as "honey-moon like" and added: "We were loving life, we were young and we had an amazing lifestyle."

But their relationship wasn't meant to be. Paul struggled with fame and then quit the band in 2002, which made their romance tricky to maintain. S Club 7 went their separate ways in 2003 and Hannah and Paul split in 2006. However, during a reunion in 2015, the pair briefly rekindled their romance before breaking up again, after just three and a half months. Paul said he suspected she still had feelings for her former fiancé, personal trainer Adam Thomas.

The pair of them didn't speak to each other for seven years following their last split. Though Paul spoke publicly about their relationship a few times and Hannah wasn't happy, calling him out on Twitter in 2017 to say: "Cringe. Someone's broke again... Hilarious! #tragic". Though with the news of S Club 7 reforming, they both made steps to repair their friendship and reportedly met for coffee in January to put the past behind them.

Reflecting on their romance, Hannah called Paul her 'first true love' after his tragic death. She told The Sun: "I had a boyfriend previous to Paul, but I'd say he was my first true love." She added: "I am grateful to have had that time with him, to make peace with each other. Because I know that's all we both ever wanted."

Nia Dalton