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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Daniel Bird & Nia Dalton

Billie Piper's love life - 'very drunken' marriage at 18, wild twenties and bitter split

Singer-turned-actress Billie Piper shot to fame at the age of 15 when her single Because We Want To went number one and her world immediately changed overnight.

Billie, now 40, has experienced lots of highs and lows in her successful career and personal life, including a young whirlwind romance and bitter split before becoming a mum-of-three.

The Doctor Who star had a self-confessed 'wild' and 'reckless' time in her late teens, and snuck off to tie the knot in Las Vegas with Top Gear host Chris Evans at the age of 18.

Chris was 35 years old at the time and it caused a national media storm, with the pair instantly becoming the hottest couple in showbiz - but also dealt with a lot of "baggage".

Billie and Chris got married in Las Vegas in 2001 and had a lot of fun (PA)

"Rather than 'oh she was a popstar', it was more 'she was a popstar, then she got p***ed for five years with an old man,'" Billie said.

Billie added that her marriage left a "lasting image" when she walked into an audition room.

She went on to tell The Guardian: "Loved it, loved that time, learned so much, [I] really needed it, after the experiences that I'd had, leading up to that point and 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."

Billie and Chris split in 2007 when she was just 21 but since their divorce, they have remained close friends and often praise their relationship.

The couple split soon after but remained good friends with fond memories (PA)

In 2006, Laurence Fox and Billie got together after meeting on the set of theatre show Treats.

They clearly hit it off, as just a year later they were married, after tying the knot at St Mary's Church in Eastbourne, West Sussex.

Before long they started a family together, having two sons Winston and Eugene.

However, according to Laurence himself, the marriage was not a smooth path, as the couple found themselves in several heated rows.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, he said he "100% wound the f**k out of her", before admitting that he now refuses to argue.

Billie echoed Laurence's sentiments about their marriage, as she also admitted "[the rows are] usually something really stupid".

Laurence and Billie were married for nine years and had a bitter divorce (Getty Images)
The couple had two children together before their romance went downhill (GETTY)

In an interview with Psychologies magazine, she explained: "It's emotionally up and down – the extremities of emotion.

"Being in love isn't something that goes, 'Oh, this is it then.' It's more dramatic. It can make you feel sick and then out of control and hyper."

It all came to a head in 2016, when the two actors filed for divorce. Unlike her previous separation from Chris Evans, this one was a bitter battle over their children.

It took a toll on Laurence, who told the Mirror: "The physical symptoms of trauma and suffering are profound panic attacks for an extended period of time, and I've never had a panic attack in my life before.

"I haven't slept for six months, even with sleeping pills. I go to bed the same time, same bed as the kids and just lie awake, sleeping two or three hours. My mind's whirring round."

He added: "I think mental health is much undiscussed in this country, men especially are scared of it, but it's good to talk about feelings.

"There's only so much room in the cupboard to store them up."

Nowadays, film director Billie is in a happy relationship with musician Johnny Lloyd, who she shares her youngest child, Tallulah, with.

The pair tend to keep their romance out of the spotlight - as Billie actually hates the idea of fame - but Johnny did make a rare comment about their love.

He told Event magazine: "She's made my life better in so many ways and I just feel I now know who I am, I know what I can do, I know where I want to be. And that's with her."

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