The late Paul Cattermole revealed despite S Club 7 selling over 10 million records in their heyday, money and recognition paled in comparison to finding love.
Paul appeared on the TV matchmaking show First Dates Hotel in 2019 to try to find the perfect partner but he remained single at the time of his death earlier this week.
The 46-year-old had revealed on the show: “Fame isn’t the route to happiness, money isn’t the route to happiness, being with somebody you love is.
“Would I have traded the success and the number ones for one true love? I think [so], yeah.”
Paul previously enjoyed a romance with his bandmate Hannah Spearritt, but never married, and believed fame had stood in the way of him finding a long-term stable relationship.
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“The life I’ve had made it tough to get to grips with what made a real relationship,” he mused in his on-screen interview.
He and Hannah originally felt obliged to keep their love a secret, reportedly sneaking in and out of each other’s houses at the height of S Club 7’s fame to avoid being spotted by fans.
The couple had initially met at the National Youth Music Theatre, where they studied together as teenagers, and they went on to find joint success in the group.
However, Paul left S Club 7 in 2002, citing “creative differences” and although his romantic relationship with Hannah survived for four years following his departure, they ultimately split up.
In 2015, they briefly reunited, but then parted again, with Hannah subsequently branding him “broke and desperate” in a Twitter rant.
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The star had suffered money troubles after leaving the group, and even decided to sell his BRIT Award to raise cash.
They made up ahead of their planned S Club 7 reunion tour, but while Hannah went on to become a mum of two, Paul never married or had children.
He died at his £172,000 home in Dorset on Thursday, and Hannah reportedly broke down in tears when she heard the tragic news.
In his later years, Paul had tried his hand at tarot card reading and attempted to rebrand himself as a psychic, but was said to have been “excited” at the prospect of getting back on the road with S Club 7.
Sadly, it was not to be, and the group released a statement declaring that all members were “truly devastated” after suffering “deep sadness and loss”.
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