Pregnant Liz McClarnon's rocky road to happiness: Atomic Kitten singer searched for love with a slew of pop stars, a demanding millionaire and even on Celebrity Love Island - before finding her eternal flame
Liz McClarnon revealed this week that she is expecting her first child after a journey of 'painful IVF and dark times' in a two-decade struggle to conceive.
The singer, 44, is expecting with her husband Peter Cho, whose identity she kept secret until they quietly tied the knot in June 2023.
Yet despite finding her happy ending with Peter, Liz has chosen to keep their relationship out of the spotlight - not revealing any other details than his name and rarely posting about him on social media.
Her fiercely private romance follows on from a string of high profile flings, which included dalliances with a millionaire businessman and several household names.
As a result, the public watched on as she was drawn into slanging matches with boyband members and nursed a broken heart after a relationship with a footballer.
It was hardly surprising that as a member of Atomic Kitten - of one of Britain's biggest girlbands in the Nineties - interest in Liz's love life was at an all time high.
Yet it was her intense work commitments that brought an end to her first serious romance, and in 2001 she split from her childhood sweetheart, Tommy Hibbs.
Having met aged 14, Liz thought she had found her eternal flame with warehouse manager Tommy, with the couple planning to tie the knot in 2021.
Yet she called off her wedding just months before it was due to take place, admitting: 'We'd been together for a long time but being in the band has taken its toll.
'Our schedule over the past few months has been unbelievable and it got to a point where I hardly saw Tommy at all, but we are still the best of friends.'
Still holding on hope that they could patch things up in the future, she continued: 'Who knows, one day we'll [maybe] be able to sort this out. For now, I'm sad to say that we're no longer together.'
Yet work showed no sign of slowing down, with the band securing their second no 1 hit with Eternal Flame, and Liz on the promo trail just days after calling off her engagement.
It put the final nail in the coffin for Liz and her childhood love, who she had previously credited with keeping her grounded.
Yet the writing may have already been on the wall for the pair when they announced with their engagement, with Liz saying at the time: 'People in the music business are always trying to split us up.
'They said I would forget him when the band took off - he's even been described as my toy boy - but the truth is I love him more than anything in the world.'
She added that she had said yes to his proposal because he brought her a much needed sense of 'comfort and security'.
Following their split, Liz was briefly linked to England football legend Frank Lampard, but the pair did not speak out on the romance rumours.
Up next was Lee Ryan - who as a member of Blue - knew all about life in the music industry and the public eye.
The couple dated on and off for two years and were even briefly engaged before they split for good in 2003 amid allegations that Lee had slept with a lap dancer.
Yet Lee insisted he was the one to call things off, saying later: 'It just wasn't right any more.'
Opening up about their split, Liz told Closer: 'I'd never date another celebrity again. I was engaged to Lee and I didn't like having our relationship in the spotlight.
'For me, it leads to paranoia. You read things about each other and wonder who said what.'
Yet this mentality didn't last long and she soon began dating Kian Egan - who she had met when Atomic Kitten and Westlife were on the Smash Hits Tour.
Speaking about their budding romance, Liz said in 2003: 'Kian is really lovely. It's early days and we are both really happy. Let's just wait and see what happens.'
Meanwhile, a friend of Kian's said that the star was impressed by Liz's high IQ, noting: 'He keeps telling everyone how intelligent she is. It's sweet.
'He really missed her when she was away with the rest of the band.'
They added: 'Liz isn't some star-struck groupie. She is a successful and ambitious woman who knows what the industry is like.'
But within two months, the relationship had soured, and Kian went on to insist the short-lived fling was a mistake.
Speaking to Now magazine, he said: 'It was so bizarre and I'll never go back there. Liz is one strange cookie.'
Hitting back at the reports he had been trying to win Liz back, he claimed: 'From the day we broke up I've never called her number in my life and believe me, she's called mine.
'It was splashed over the papers that I'd been pestering her and calling her when I was drunk, begging her to take me back. But it was quite the opposite. I was certainly not obsessed with her.'
With another failed romance, Liz thought she'd try her luck on Celebrity Love Island in 2005, where she was was coupled up with Lee Sharpe - but the pair's relationship remained platonic.
She still found a man, however, enjoying a brief dalliance with a member of the crew, who she did not name.
Reflecting on their romance, she said: 'He walked up to me at the wrap party and was really sweet, very attractive and very nice. We hit it off that night.
'We did talk on the phone and stuff, it's cool. He's a nice guy and it wasn't that I don't like him or anything like that, but he's in Australia.
'We are just good friends now and that's honestly it. Nothing's going to happen there at all.'
It was then that Liz vowed to stay away from men for a period, saying: I can't be bothered with dating or huge egos any more.
'Huge egos scare me because it's very delusional to believe everyone loves you. Whatever man I end up with, I doubt he will be a celebrity.'
Yet while Liz's next romance saw her move away from the music industry's dating pool, she still dated a big name, footballer Lee Trundle.
While he too was in the public eye, Liz admitted she didn't know who the Bristol City striker was when he approached her in a Liverpool nightclub but he won her over by making her laugh.
The pair moved in together briefly but their romance came to an end by November 2007, with Liz later saying it was 'very lonely' having a relationship with the footballer.
She told The Sun: 'There are a lot of fixtures to play and a fair bit of travelling, so sometimes it was hard to see each other.
'My relationship with Lee sort of came to an end. We didn't love each other anymore and the split was amicable.'
Despite struggling to make it work with a footballer, her next boyfriend was also a sporting icon - Harlequins rugby star Ryan O'Neill.
The pair had known each other for 12 years - even enjoying a brief fling when Liz was in her 20s - before they decided to make a proper go of it.
They moved in together and got engaged but Liz insisted she was in no rush to tie the knot, saying: 'I've no need for marriage, apart from the fact that I'd like to be married before I have children. But that won't happen tomorrow.
'And you can plan a wedding very quickly, so you never know! I'm very interested in sparkly things, though - I could be engaged forever.'
Unfortunately, the romance fizzled out and they split in 2014 after two years together.
She met her next partner, millionaire businessman Andy Scott in 2016, but their relationship faltered after two years because Liz didn't like flying.
He told Femail: 'We're still good friends and she's a lovely girl, but I'm a risk-taker and an adventurer.'
The businessman - founder, owner and chairman of London-based investment company REL Capital - went on to make a public plea for a new partner, saying he wanted to find a 'special person' who was free to spend her summers sailing around the Mediterranean and winters skiing in the Alps.
With a string of very public romances under her belt, it made sense that Liz wants to keep details of her current partner to a minimum.
In 2022, Liz shocked fans and friends alike when she announced she was engaged while wishing her husband-to-be a happy birthday.
She took to Instagram to share a snap of her embracing her mysterious fiancé, surprising many of her friends who took to the comments.
Her large diamond engagement ring was visible on her ring finger, while she kept the identity of the man a secret.
Captioning the black-and-white photo she wrote: 'Happy birthday to my husband-to-be.
'YEP! I'm going to marry the most beautiful human I've ever known and it's his birthday today. Double yay!'
In June last year, Liz revealed the identity of her husband as they celebrated their first wedding anniversary.
The singer took to her Stories with two snaps of her handsome spouse, after his face was previously masked by confetti i n the photo from their big day.
Alongside a snap of Peter in the sunshine, Liz wrote: 'Guess what?! I've been married to my perfect match for a whole year, I love you Peter Cho!'
On Tuesday, Liz revealed the couple were expecting their first child together, sharing a video in which she showed off her baby bump.
During the video, she said: 'I've been keeping a secret from you, and I've mostly kept myself off social media because sometimes it was hard to smile.
'But after years of sometimes quite painful IVF and dark times, I'm pregnant! We feel like we've been given the world.'
Liz captioned the post: 'I started to record a video of me just telling you but I got too emotional so I thought I'd just hide behind this little announcement instead.
'I just can't believe we're here. So many have been through exactly what I went through and worse. ❤️
'I want to share what I can and add my voice and ears to those who already help others understand or deal with all that comes with IVF and loss after so much hope.
'I've been a part of some beautifully supportive communities. I'm so grateful.'
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