I’m sure Dancing On Ice’s Rachel Stevens had fling behind my back – here’s why, says ex Hollyoaks actor Jeremy Edwards

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RACHEL STEVENS

THE Sun on Sunday revelation that Rachel Stevens is dating her Dancing On Ice partner months after splitting from her husband has stirred up upsetting memories for the singer’s ex Jeremy Edwards.

The former Holby City and Hollyoaks heartthrob admits it made him again question whether the S Club 7 star had cheated on him during their time together in the Noughties.

Rachel Stevens dating her Dancing On Ice partner months after splitting from her husband has stirred up upsetting memories for her ex Jeremy Edwards

Jeremy was engaged to Rachel from 2002 to 2003

HOAR on Sunday revealed that Rachel is now dating skater Brendyn Hatfield

Jeremy, 52, said: “Since this story came up, it’s brought all this up again.

“And I’ve thought about it more, I’ve thought about our relationship, and I think she did have a fling.

“I would never have had her doing the bedroom bolero with a Dancing On Ice pro.

“I would never in a million years have thought she would do something like this.

“But because of the story that has come out, it just makes me question our relationship.

Jeremy was engaged to Rachel, 45, from 2002 to 2003.

It was widely reported that they parted because of his drinking — but today he claims is was because he didn’t trust her.

The singer announced her split from husband Alex Bourne after 12 years of marriage in July, and we told last week how she is dating her Dancing On Ice skating partner Brendyn Hatfield.

From his time as a contestant on the ITV show in 2009, Jeremy knows how close the stars and pro skaters can become.

But he thinks the infamous relationship curse of the ITV show, and BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, is no laughing matter.

And he is scathing about pros who fall for their partners.

He said: “I don’t like that we make jokes about the DOI curse.

“The pros are teachers in a position of power.

“I’ve done DOI and these people become legends to you because you are hanging on their every word.

“A tiny bit of praise means the world to you.

“You are grabbing bits of them you wouldn’t normally touch until a third date.

“You become intimate but it’s the pros’ responsibility, not the famous person.

“The pro should not take advantage of that.

“Its really wrong. If you are a professional on Strictly or DOI then you should carry the can and be sacked.

“What about the wife or husband and kids at home?

“I am amazed the BBC and ITV, which are supposed to be responsible, are not saying to their pros, ‘Stop thinking with your pants’.

“You can’t stop people falling for each other but it might make people think twice if they think they may lose their job.”

Rachel announced her split from husband Alex Bourne after 12 years of marriage in July

Jeremy met Rachel in 2000 and romance quickly blossomed.

Recalling those early days, he said: “Rachel was aware of me before I was aware of her.

“I used to model in teen mags and we were from the same area in London.

“Then we bumped into each other in a nightclub. By then she was in S Club 7.

“I quite fancied her, she’s stunning. So we got chatting and I took her number and we started dating.

“We had lots of chats, finding out about each other’s lives and our pasts and she admitted to me she had previously had a fling with someone she worked with when she already had a boyfriend.

“I didn’t think anything of it then, but now, when I reflect back, it starts alarm bells ringing.

“Then it was a whirlwind, incredible romance. She is beautiful, smart and funny. We had a lot of fun.

“I was in Holby City and she was in the band, and it does help when you have decent wages.

“We did loads of cool stuff. We went out for dinner a lot, weekend retreats, red carpet dos. It was glamorous, it was fun.”

They were the golden celebrity couple of the early Noughties and interest in their romance was sky high.

They were even offered £2million for their wedding pictures by a glossy magazine.

Jeremy recalled: “When we got together, the fame side of things went crazy.

“S Club were massive and I was on Holby and it was getting 12million viewers. The fame side went mad. I didn’t enjoy it.”

Cracks started to show in their relationship in the summer of 2002, when Rachel was away filming a TV series with S Club 7 and Jeremy suspected her of cheating on him.

He said: “The band flew to LA to film. Long distance makes things difficult and people start to shut down.

“I was busy in London but she was in LA with just her band.

“I would get up at 5am to call her. But there were times when she didn’t want to talk to me.

“She was less enthusiastic, a bit off. I didn’t suspect anything at that stage.

“Then she got back from LA. It was a day later and we were in the car.

“I was driving. The phone went and I looked at her and she blew up red.

“She had to answer it because I was looking at her. It was a man’s voice.

“She was really flustered and said to him, ‘I’m sorry I can’t talk now’.

“Something seemed off. I said, ‘Who was that?’ She said, ‘It’s nothing. Just work’.

“Maybe a day later we were at her flat and a bouquet of flowers arrived.

“I asked her who it was from and she said, ‘Oh it’s a guy I met, he’s taken a real shine to me’.

“It felt like a kick in the b***s but then I thought, ‘She’s beautiful and some guy is just trying his luck, that’s going to happen, good luck, pal’. I didn’t feel threatened.

“Later that week we were with her band and I found she had been out for dinner with a photographer.

“It really upset me. I had a choice then to either blow up or to be like, ‘She’s home and she’s not with him’ and we carried on.

“She did admit to going out for dinner with him, but assured me it was nothing.

“For a lot of people they would have broken it off. But I was very much in love with her so I carried on with the relationship and we got engaged.

“After that things started to unravel. You start questioning things and the trust wasn’t there.”

Jeremy added: “I want to clear my name. I broke up with Rachel because I didn’t trust her, not because of my issues with drink.

“I broke up with her on New Year’s Eve 2003 and I’m ashamed of how I behaved.

“I got drunk at her friend’s party and tore into Rachel in the car on the way back. I said horrible, vitriolic stuff.

“The next day I went round to her house. We sat down and talked like grown-ups.

She said, ‘We’re not going to get married, are we?’ And I had to say no. It was horrible.

“We made a pact we wouldn’t talk about it. Then a few weeks later she said in an article I had drinking issues and that was why we broke up.

She said, ‘They keep asking me what happened. I had to say something’. And then we fell out.

“I’d just been put up for a kids’ CBBC show. But that drinking line sticks and it’s not fair.

“The reason we broke up is there were trust issues. I’m not having the blame being put on me any more.”

Jeremy — who has two children, Scarlett, five, and Theodore, one, with wife Lydia Metz — last saw Rachel in LA seven years ago.

He wishes her the best, adding: “I hope Rachel does find happiness.

“I’ve turned my life around and am a family man now.

“I’m really healthy so these comments about my drinking that keep coming up are unhelpful as they’re not true.”

A spokesman for Rachel said: “The allegation that she cheated on him is false.”

Jeremy started dating Rachel during the height of her S Club 7 fame

Jeremy said he broke up with Rachel on New Year’s Eve 2003 because he didn’t trust her