Billie Piper has lifted the lid on her whirlwind marriage to Chris Evans, insisting she “learned a lot” from the experience.
Walking down the aisle in a secretive Las Vegas ceremony, Billie and Chris tied the knot in 2001, only to pull the plug on their relationship three years later, officially divorcing in 2007.
Billie, 38, who went on to marry and later divorce the actor Laurence Fox, has been famously tight-lipped about her relationship with the former Top Gear presenter.
At the time, Billie was already a teen pop sensation, having topped the charts with tracks Because We Want To and Girlfriend.
Their age gap relationship attracting much attention, the mum-of-three was just 18 when she said “I do,” while the radio DJ was 17 years her senior.
With some probing from David Tennant on his podcast David Tennant Does A Podcast With… this week, the actress reflected on their historic love affair.
Billie remembered having an “incredible time” when she was wed to Chris Evans (Image: Press Association)
After discussing the heady years of their Doctor Who stardom together, Scottish actor David quizzed Billie about the reaction to her teen marriage to the TV personality.
He asked: “You had this whirlwind marriage to Chris Evans who was, and is, a famous television and radio personality. The two of you sort of dropped out of life, didn’t you?
“It was like tabloid catnip. They couldn’t believe that this young girl and this slightly older man could really be having this wonderful time. But for you, it was a purely positive experience.”
Billie – who recently landed a starring role in the acclaimed TV series I Hate Suzie – had nothing but good things to say about their relationship, recalling the hedonism of her youth at the time.
The former lovebirds tied the knot in Las Vegas, keeping the ceremony under wraps (Image: Mirrorpix)
She said: “We had a really amazing time together, you know? I imagine it’s what your uni years feel like. Sort of reckless, but you’re learning a lot.
“It was an incredible time and not to undermine our relationship because we also had a very loving relationship. It wasn’t just, oh we’re getting, going out, getting fucked. We had a very caring, loving relationship.”
Billie recalled getting “hammered” with her ex-husband Chris in another part of the interview, as David quizzed her about feeling burnt out in the showbiz industry.
From the mid-noughties, David Tennant played Doctor Who with Billie Piper as his assistant Rose Tyler (Image: PA)
He asked: “And when it did get quite dark and you had to walk away from that career, did that always feel like, ‘I’m taking this time out to breathe and then I’m going to come back and do what I’ve always wanted to do’ or were you in such a dark place by the end of the pop star days?”
Billie, who took a step back from her career as a pop star in the early noughties, replied: “I would say I was in a dark place and just ready to have a bit of a normal life, whatever that meant for me. I was just so tired.
“If I’m honest, I was really burnt out. I also wanted to have some freedom. I wanted to stay at home and learn how to cook properly and do what felt like healing things.”
She added: “Also, I went and got completely hammered for three years with Chris Evans.”
‘David Tennant Does A Podcast With…’ is available on Apple , Spotify and all podcast providers. A Somethin’ Else and No Mystery production
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
