Emma Bunton says having a break from her "soulmate" husband Jade Jones at the start of their relationship "worked a treat" as it has made their romance what it is today.
The Spice Girls songstress, 46, has previously spoken about taking a small break away from each other when they started dating when Emma was 21 and Jade was 19.
But she explained to pal Holly Willoughby how a break was very much needed as it has made their connection stronger today, and helped cement the fact they knew they wanted to be together forever.
"You've got a toyboy," Holly joked on her By The Light of the Moon podcast, adding: "You met the love of your life early - how lucky are you?"
Emma replied: "So lucky. It was very immediate. As soon as I looked at him I thought, 'This is so special'.
"We talk about it now because he felt exactly the same and we had very magical moments very early on and we were both taken aback about that.
"We would talk about children. It was very intense, very quickly. I think both of us knew that we wanted to be together. We just knew. We're soulmates.
"I think it hit us that we were so young and both of us hadn't done everything.
"We did have a break but I think it was more of a, 'Oh God, we've met the person we are going to spend the rest of our life with, and we're 19 and 21.'"
Holly continued: "Do you think having that break helped? Did it serve its purpose?"
Emma added: "Yeah, definitely. Firstly, I was on tour and he was on tour, so I think we would've taken that time apart anyway.
"But I think it gave us time to grow as people. When we came back together, it was just amazing.
"We felt something very quickly. But I think we needed that time to go, 'Right OK, I've met the person I'm in love with. What do I need to do in this little time to explore and know 100%?'"
Holly agreed, sharing: "It's right. I guess you separate to know you really want to be back together."
Emma laughed as she added: "It worked a treat."
The couple split just one year after they started dating and then reconciled in 2000, before parting ways again in 2002, when it was rumoured that she had a fling with Justin Timberlake.
Emma and Jade got back together for good in 2004, and they have since welcomed two children - Beau and Tate - and tied the knot after 23 years together in an intimate ceremony in July 2021.
