The Girls 0n Love And Fame


Jo

Lovely blonde Jo O'Meara has one wish for next year - time off to get married. Jo, 21, is dreaming of a big white wedding to fiancé Lee, a mechanic. She says: "I can't wait to tie the knot and I want the girls from the band as bridesmaids and Jon singing in church." The couple met when Jo's sister married Lee's brother and they have been together for three years. But they nearly split up when Jo joined S Club 7.

She says: "Signing up for the band was just the best thing but it nearly ruined our relationship. "When the group went to Miami for the first time I cried every day. I just wanted to come home and it put a real strain on me and Lee. "Within weeks I was thinking it was a big mistake. I'd never done much acting, never been away from Lee, never even been abroad and here I was on the other side of the world making a TV show with six strangers. "If our relationship hadn't been so strong it wouldn't have lasted."

Jo, who was encouraged to audition after being spotted singing in a country and western theme restaurant, reckons she has the best of both worlds. She enjoys her time with the band but also loves escaping into Lee's arms at the new home they have bought in Romford, Essex. She says: "I want Lee to come out next time we are away but he's happier watching football at home."

And Jo is already planning her future when the band split up. She says: "I've achieved a dream. Now I can look forward to the wedding, having a family and one day opening a pet shop - what more could a girl want?"


Tina

Gorgeous Tina Barrett says she's got no time for a love life since becoming famous. The 24-year-old has just ended a long-distance relationship with her American art-director boyfriend due to her tough schedule.

The former dancer and model, who lives in West London, says: "Maybe I'm just going through a selfish stage but all I want to do when I get home is be alone. "After so much of my life going out with somebody, I'm really enjoying doing my own thing. Love will have to wait."

Tina grew up in London and went to drama and art schools before spending a year dancing for the Royal Opera. She also danced with pop acts Toni Braxton, Jarvis Cocker and Simply Red and worked for Disney TV before being snapped up by Simon Fuller for S Club 7.

She says: "Working with stars like Mick Hucknall and travelling gave me a taste for the showbiz lifestyle but nothing could have prepared me for the band. We were thrown together and it was very daunting. "People think we must be very close but despite how much time we've spent together I don't think any of us really knows what the others are thinking"

Although Tina is now famous, she is still in awe of other celebrities. She says: "I'd be too shy to just go up and chat to a showbiz star I fancied. I'd wait for them to make the first move."

As for the future, she says: "There are so many things I want to do with my singing and acting. Being in the band has opened lots of doors and there will hopefully be opportunities when we go our separate ways. "When we do split, it will be a group decision, I can't see one of us leaving and the rest carrying on. When one goes, we'll all go."


Hannah

Sexy Hannah Spearritt may be wealthy thanks to the success of S Club 7 but admits she doesn't know how to spend her money. The biggest thing the star has splashed out on so far is a BED, although she says she might really go for it now - and buy a TV too.

Hannah, 19, prefers to rent a place with pals rather than buying her own home. While her bandmates have ambitious plans for the rest of their careers, she wants to go travelling when S Club 7 finally call it a day. And the stunner can't understand why she is seen as a rival to colleague Rachel in the pin-up stakes - believing she looks more like a boy than a sexy woman.

She says: "I'm more like a 13-year-old lad. It's an ongoing joke that I have little boy's knees. "I was in a magazine list of the 100 most beautiful women but Rachel is the sexy one."

Hannah is single and admits she is suspicious of men who now chat her up. "I think they're only doing it because I am in a band. My love life is pretty much non-existent."

Hannah came to the attention of S Club boss Simon Fuller when she was 16 and appearing in the stage musical Bugsy Malone. She says: "I never knew how big the group would be - I still can't really get my head around it."

Despite her wealth, she enjoys a simple life with mates in a North London flat. "We've got a dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer. I feel quite lucky to have all of those. "I drive a Peugeot 106 and got a bed when I was sick of sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Now I might get a TV, so you could say I'm the flash one of the group!"


Rachel

With her long hair, honey skin and fantastic figure, Rachel Stevens is the band's pin-up girl. And today she will break the hearts of men across the country by telling of her love for Jeremy Edwards, who plays trainee nurse Danny Shaughnessy in TV's Holby City.

Talking about their romance for the first time, Rachel, 21, says: "I would love it to go further. We've been together six months and things are great. "Sometimes it is hard because I'm away a lot. The problem is we don't have much quality time together. We try to see each other as much as we can."

The couple met through mutual pals at a bar but Rachel admits she'd had her eye on her fella since first spotting him playing heart-throb Kurt Benson in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

She says: "I thought he was cute. Sometimes I'm not comfortable with people at first but I gelled with him straight away. "We were friends for a long time before becoming a couple. He is very funny, very charming and we laugh loads.

"I've always been a real flirt, I had a different boyfriend every week." And as for being a sex symbol, she adds: "I'm flattered by the attention but I have the same hang-ups as other girls. I'd like to tone up my figure."

Rachel got her big break when she visited her brother at work at Sony Records and was spotted by two producers who mentioned her to Simon Fuller as he was setting up S Club 7.

With her new wealth she has bought a Mercedes and a flat in exclusive Hampstead, North London, but fame has also brought problems. Rachel says: "I lost a close friendship because a girlfriend couldn't cope with what I was doing."


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