FIVE star Ritchie Neville has delighted fans after revealing his surprise engagement.
Singer Ritchie, 45, took to Instagram to share the exciting news – and a photo with his fiancée – who he described as the “nicest soul ever”.
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Beaming for the camera, the former heartthrob and his other half proudly – whose name he did not reveal – held up her hand to display a dazzling engagement ring.
Ritchie wrote in his caption: “So…….this happened. Met the nicest soul ever and she felt like my wife the minute I met her.” He added a blue love heart emoji to the end of his message.
The former boyband member, who rose to fame in the 90s with chart-topping hits like Keep On Movin’ and Everybody Get Up, has remained private about his personal life in recent years.
At the height of his fame, Ritchie was linked to several high-profile women including actress Billie Piper, model Lucy Clarkson, and Honeyz singer Mariama Goodman.
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He married Australian model and DJ Emily Scott in 2008, though their marriage ended amid controversy a couple of years later.
Later, he was engaged to Atomic Kitten’s Natasha Hamilton, with whom he shares a daughter, Ella Rose.
Their engagement ended in 2016.
In September of that year, Ritchie told The Sun it was too early to love again and that Ella hadn’t been introduced to Natasha’s now-husband, Charles Gay.
He said: “That would be way too early. It would be terribly wrong to introduce them to new partners and stuff that quick.
“At the end of the day, the plan was we were getting married in June.
Natasha Hamilton and Ritchie Neville discuss pregnancy
“It just wouldn’t be right – not that I have a new partner.
“The main thing is it’s not a time thing, it’s how serious you are about the relationship, then you’ve got to give it some time.
“Kids can be sensitive to that.
“You’ve got to be sure it’s mainly compatible it’s going to go the distance. You’ve got to go through experiences together as a partner, I think.”
Natasha and Ritchie got together after sparks flew when they both appeared on reality TV show The Big Reunion.
At the beginning of the year, the couple decided to call it quits but continued living together for the sake of their daughter.
More recently, Ritchie opened up about his experience of hitting an ‘epic low’ after 5ive disbanded.
The pop group were signed by Simon Cowell in 1997.
Despite quickly shooting to fame, they split up just four years later.
Ritchie spoke about how that affected him in an exclusive interview with The Sun’s TV Mag last November.
The singer admitted he turned to drink when his career in music seemed to be falling apart, saying: “After the band, you know, I hit an epic low.
“Because I didn’t know what I wanted to do anymore. And my heart wasn’t in making an album.
“The powers that be wanted me to sing ballads. I like a ballad, but that’s not what I want to do.
“I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was completely emotionally and spiritually lost.
“So I did drink way more than I should for a few years there. I drank to forget.”
The former hitmaker added that he lost two or three years of his life to drinking before Kung Fu helped him out of the dark hole.
Despite going through such a difficult time after 5ive fell apart, Ritchie has been firm about having no regrets.
Before they split in 2001, the band won a Brit award, had three UK No1s and sold ten million records worldwide.
Ritchie reflects on those days in the limelight with pride, saying, “It’s amazing, when I look back.”
He also has a fond memory of playing Hey, Joe with Queen ” just because we were three guys that really like Jimi Hendrix and music”, which he described as “a really, really cool moment”.
Ritchie has also shared more about his time in 5ive in new BBC documentary Boybands Forever, which is a three-part look into what life was like for teen pop idols in the 90s and early 2000s.
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