Perrie Edwards reveals pain of 'toxic' relationship before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain romance
The 32-year-old Little Mix star - who is now engaged to former Arsenal and Liverpool footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - has opened up about the "pain" she felt because of her "first relationship" with an unnamed ex partner.
She told Paul C Brunson on the We Need To Talk podcast: "I think definitely at the time I thought everything we experienced in our relationship was normal.
"Because it was my first relationship, first love. I was like, 'Oh, this is how it's supposed to feel. It's supposed to feel a little bit toxic. In some ways, this is probably normal, right?'
"And then when I became single, I was almost thinking, like, I never, ever want to go through that again.
"I didn't even want to meet anybody. I was like, that's me done. I don't think I could bear that pain."
However, she has since realised the truth, while it took her some time to get used to how Alex handled things in their relationship.
She explained: "Now, reflecting back, I'm thinking, oh, that probably wasn't good. And I've noticed it a lot.
"Like in the start of the relationship, I would handle things differently with Alex, and he'd come at it with such a level head that it would throw me."
After getting engaged to Alex in 2022, she opened up about how "laid back" he is.
She said: "Little things might happen, and I'd think, 'Oh, now he's going to kick off, he's not going to like this.'
"And I'd be like, 'Oh, this happened.' And he'd be like, 'Alright,' and it would throw me.
"He's very mature. He's very laid back. He's very levelheaded. He's not the type to get mad or get angry or get funny about things."
Perrie did not specify which past relationship she was talking about in the podcast.
She was previously engaged to former One Direction star Zayn Malik in 2013, but they broke up two years later.
In May, Zayn reflected on their romance and told Nylon magazine: "From 17 to 21, I was in a relationship. I was engaged and [planned to get] married and I didn't know anything about anything at that point.
"I thought I did, because I was 21. I was legally allowed to do everything, but I didn't know s***."
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