Scoop star Billie Piper once opened up about what it was like to be married to Chris Evans, and how their relationship unfortunately became ‘tabloid fodder’.
Back in 2000, Billie, now 41, appeared on an episode of TFI Friday, where she first encountered her future husband Chris, now 58.
Soon after the stint, the TV host made his intentions towards the young singer clear by sending her the lavish gift of a Ferrari filled with roses.
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Following the grand gesture, the pair embarked on a whirlwind romance, which accumulated in a secret wedding ceremony in Las Vegas.
At the time of the impromptu nuptials, Billie was just 18 while Chris was 17 years her senior at 35, which caused an outcry in the British press.
While the Virgin Radio presenter has said he and the I Hate Suzie star were ‘totally in love’ and that they were ‘together for the right reasons’, Billie complained the marriage negatively impacted her career.
Speaking to The Guardian, the mum-of-three revealed: “A lot of it was just tabloid fodder, rather than, ‘Oh, she was a pop star’.
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“It was more, ‘She was a pop star, then she got p*****d for five years with an old man.’ I think that was the lasting image when I walked into an audition room.
“Older man. Not old man. He’s an old man now, but then, so am I.”
Billie claims that despite being saddled with ‘baggage’, she tends to look back at the pair’s relationship with rose-tinted glasses.
“Loved that time. Learned so much,” she explained. “Really needed it, after the experiences that I’d had, leading up to that point.
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“I felt like I’d actually found a real friend. I guess meeting someone who had experienced [fame] for 20 years, at that level, it was very nurturing.
“And also very drunken, which I needed. I had a lot of fun during those years.”
After controversially saying ‘I do’ in 2001, the Netflix star and her ex-husband eventually called it quits in 2004.
Three years later, the duo divorced and Billie was free to marry her second husband, Laurence Fox, 45.
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The couple went on to have two sons, Winston, 14 and Eugene Fox, 11, before the Doctor Who actress was granted another divorce in 2016.
She also shares a daughter with Tribes frontman and former partner Johnny Lloyd - Talulah Lloyd, four.
Outside of her personal life, Billie’s latest roles include the Lena Dunham-directed comedy Catherine Called Birdy and the biographical drama, Scoop.
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She portrays former TV producer and trained criminal barrister Sam McAlister, who secured an interview with Prince Andrew for the BBC Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal.
An official synopsis for the scandalous movie reads: “Inspired by an insider account, this drama unpacks how Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview became 2019’s biggest scoop. But who got him to agree to it?”
Featured Image Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty ImagesTopics: Celebrity, TV And Film, Sex and Relationships