The popscene has a new dream couple! Hannah and Paul from S club 7 have been together for 6 months. They
told "Yam" how it works and why they kept their love a secret!
The hiding game is over! They have admitted it!
Hannah Spearritt, the wild party girl of the group, and Paul Cattermole, the heartbreaker, are a couple and
began going out in May 2001. "It was love at second sight!" says Hannah beaming. "We had already known each
other for 7 years, but sparks began to fly first in the Spring." And Paul added: "We kept our love secret because
we didn't know whether it was only a little fling or whether it was serious. But now we think it's serious!"
They met for the first time in 1994, when Paul and Hannah took part in the youth production "Pendragon". "I was only 13, and Paul was already 17, when we got to know each other" remembers Hannah. "I fancied him straight-off, but there was no hope, because he was always surrounded by attractive girls!" They both lost contact after a year, but met again 4 years later when Simon Fuller bought them together for S club 7. "That was fate" says Paul. "We couldn't believe it when we both got picked for the band!" At that moment, Paul had a steady girlfriend, but through the stress of S club 7 and the many trips abroad, the romance broke off. Hannah had no steady boyfriend, but she often longed for a relationship.
Six months ago, sparks began to fly between the two. The group were in England on tour � they travelled together on the tour bus, spent nearly every minute with each other and got to know each other better than before. "Hannah and I became very close" says Paul. "When she was tired, she would always lean against me. We told each other all our anxieties and problems, we had total understanding of each other. I noticed I was falling for her. Then we kissed, and I sensed that Hannah had the same feelings!"
At first, they said nothing - they did not tell the rest of the band members. After the English tour and a short holiday, the S club flew to LA in July, to film their new series, Hollywood 7. Before the departure, the pair decided to tell the group about their secret romance. Paul: "we wanted to see how it developed before we went public!" In LA, the atmosphere was much more relaxed than in England. S club didn't have to play cat and mouse with the paparazzi. They could go out together, without causing a great stir. They could share a hotel room without it being in the newspaper the next day. They were able to do what normal couples do. When they had to film the kiss scene for their new series, that was their moment to "come out". The scene was special for the lovers. Hannah: "We are totally happy and pleased, that the hiding game is over. For me, Paul is my biggest love. We are now looking for a flat to share in London."
Live and Kicking Mag -February 2002
Tell us about your best valentine's day ever
Hannah: I've never been going out with anyone on Valentine's Day!
Paul: Same here (But now you are!)
What would you like to do for Valentine's Day?
Paul: I'd like to go to the cinema, and then eat out. Or maybe go to the Ice Hotel in Lapland, where everything's
made out of ice!
Hannah: I'd quite like to go off to Venice and travel on a gondola.
Paul: Ha! ha! Oooh, I don't know if I can afford that!
Hannah and Paul, was it hard to keep your relationship under wraps?
Paul: Probably not as difficult as it should havebeen!
Hannah: I don't think some people could have done it as long as we did!
Paul: We've been together about 10 months. It was a case of either us coming clean or someone saying something that wouldn't have been as truthful.
Tell us what love means to you:
Paul: It's when you care about someone so deeply it affects you.
Hannah: It's when your souls meet and you come together
TV Hits magazine - September 2001
Paul: I do get a bit mushy when I�m in love.
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