Louise Redknapp, 50, reveals if there are wedding bells on the horizon with younger boyfriend Drew Michael, 41, as she hits back at 'toyboy' criticism
The singer, 50, and the businessman, 41, have been dating since October 2023 and have gone from stregnth to stregnth.
The singer moved on with Drew after her split from Jamie Redknapp in 2017 after 19 years of marriage. They share two children together Charlie, 20, and William, 16.
Now in a new interview as she releases her new album Louise has gushed over her partner after her tough marriage breakdown and spoken candidly about their future plans.
She told The Sun: 'Drew's great. We're having a lovely time together. It took me a long time to get to that place and be open about anything.
'I was very guarded and scared. But I'm really enjoying having special times with someone. He's a great guy and super-kind.'
Asked if there are wedding bells on the horizon she added: 'Oh, I'm not even thinking that far ahead. I'm not even going there.
'I just want to be proud of this and I want to really enjoy it. I've met a really great guy and I'm really happy. But you never know what the future holds.'
She added in the interview that her two sons really get on well with Drew which makes life much easier.
Louise also hit back at 'toyboy' criticism due to their nine-year age gap.
She said being branded a 'cougar' is 'water off a duck's back' to her and that 'age is irrelevant' as she doesn't 'feel older than him'.
The interview comes after she recently revealed why she was painted as the 'villain' following her split from ex-husband Jamie.
Louise opened up about being accused of walking out on her family and how everyone had an 'opinion'.
She told the Independent: 'I was the villain. I'd been lucky in my career because for many years I didn't really have a lot of scrutiny. Then bang, everybody's got an opinion.'
'Anything someone could perceive as negative, I cut out. Nothing I said was right. To defend myself was wrong. To not defend myself was wrong. I felt like I was walking up a one-way street with just nowhere to go on it.'
Elsewhere Louise said she is now ready to push out of her comfort zone and she even features a number of 'sex noises' in her new single.
She is preparing to release a new album Confessions and is really adamant about making 'progressive music' instead of being 'nostalgic'.
Louise said she doesn't care what people think despite friends questioning whether there are 'too many sex noises' in her new track Get Into It, which features moans of ecstasy.
Speaking about co-writer Jon Shave, who worked on Charli XCX's album Brat, she said: 'I got a text from Jon asking, "Are there too many sex noises on this?". And I was like, "Jon, there can never be too many sex noises!"
'I've had a lot of feedback like that. And I do understand it. I've always kept in my lane, done what people expected. Now I'm saying, 'f*** it!'
It came after Louise discussed her divorce from Jamie on the Happy Place podcast and credited her two sons for keeping her going during the breakup.
She said: 'If I didn't have my kids, I think I would've just given up. I think I just knew that my kids were my everything and they needed me.'
The singer admitted that the public scrutiny of her marriage breakdown made the situation even harder to deal with.
She added: 'But I can honestly say, when you're going through something so personal in your own turmoil in your own way, but then to get the barrage of judgment and nastiness.
'I never realised people could be so unkind and say such terrible things. I blew my mind.'
'I was going through a lot as it was, I was trying to be strong for my kids, whatever had gone on in our life was private - which I do believe that you're entitled to no matter what.
'And God, I was such a villain, and I was breaking like I was absolutely breaking.
'Beyond what I thought it was possible for a human to break and all along I'm still trying to be a mum.
'And it was just like every time I went out, and I was trying to put a brave face on and do things, like that was wrong if I didn't.
'I felt like everything I did was so wrong.'
Listeners were quick to praise Louise, who has not remarried, for her honesty.
They wrote: 'Refreshingly honest. Louise comes across as such a lovely grounded person, and she's passing on her wisdom to her kids';
'What an extraordinary interview! So honest, humble and sincere. Thank you so very much for sharing Ladies';
'Felt like I was sat with 2 girl friends... honest, real and inspiring';
'What an amazing interview [and] great to hear you speak your truth.'
Following the split, Jamie found love with Swedish model Frida Andersson and they tied the knot in 2021 before having a son together.
Louise has also found love again and has been in a relationship with businessman Drew since 2023.
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