'My first true love': S Club 7's Hannah Spearritt opens up about relationship with Paul Cattermole after his death
LONDON, ENGLAND: Hannah Spearritt of S Club 7 recently opened up about her past relationship with Paul Cattermole following the musician’s untimely death on April 6, aged just 46.
The 42-year-old musician shared, “It’s still so raw and I have these moments where I don’t quite believe that it’s real. I still can’t believe I will never see him again,” reported The Sun. She further added, “It’s all the more tragic because he was looking forward to the tour the most out of all of us. He just wanted to have fun and enjoy it.”
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Recalling Cattermole’s day of death, she revealed she woke up to a “very sad and tragic news” from the tour manager for their upcoming tour in October. She said, “I called the number and was told, ‘Paul has sadly passed, Paul has died’. I couldn’t make sense of it and had so many questions. I was trying to process it but I just couldn’t.” Spearritt further added, “My heart is broken for him and his family. He was happier than he had been in years, so for this to happen now, makes it even more heartbreaking.”
She also revealed how she could not cope up with the news, “And with Paul being famous, it makes it more difficult emotionally as it’s a lot harder to block it all out, which is my coping mechanism.” However, she also said the support messages were helpful, “Having said that, the messages of support have been heartwarming — they have helped bring a little ray of sunshine within the darkness.”
Paul Cattermole and Hannah Spearritt's relationship
Spearritt knew Cattermole when she was just 13. Later, they were chosen to form the band S Club 7 by the former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller. The couple dated from 2001 to 2006. They again got back together in 2015 for three months, but parted ways after that.
She revealed, “He was my first true love. I think it was something that grew from a solid friendship. I’m glad I had that first time round. I was completely in love with him — probably more so than he with me." However, she also elucidated the cause of their breakup, “Paul never wanted fame and he became increasingly unhappy. I just wanted a little bit more of a faster pace of life and Paul was more of a deep thinker, and probably a lot more philosophical than I am.”
Talking about the “clear the air” meeting in January that the group organized before their impending tour, the duo met again. “It was important for me to see him and to know that we could work together and not make the band feel awkward,” Spearritt said, before adding, “I wanted to put everything behind us and look to the future.” She further revealed, "We spoke about how we both felt about doing the tour, our reasons for doing it and if we would be OK to work together again. There was a lot at stake.”
“Paul was so open and honest about his struggles. We’d ironed out all our problems,” revealed she before saying, "Obviously we didn’t get to say goodbye, but I am grateful to have had that time with him to make peace as I know that’s all we both wanted.”
‘Big brother Paul’
S Club 7 member Bradley McIntosh recently took to social media to commemorate the deceased singer, "I can’t believe I’m writing this right now but as many of you know we lost our dear friend, fellow band member and big brother Paul last week." He then thanked the late musician for the memories, saying, "Thank you for the good times the memories and big love." Reminiscing about the past, the ‘City Boy’ said, "We had so many great adventures together. I know your not going to be with us on the next one in the physical but you’ll always be with us in our hearts and thoughts. Gonna miss you. Love you bro. R.I.P."