Support truly
independent journalism
Rachel Stevens has recalled a terrifying home invasion experience that left her with “terrible” PTSD.
The S Club star, who appeared on the sixth series of BBC dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing, said she was ambushed in June 2009 while entering her flat in Primrose Hill after returning home from a shopping trip.
Stevens said that an intruder with a balaclava “charged” her, sending them both plummeting down a staircase. The man then put a hand round her throat, and “threatened to break my neck if I screamed”.
The incident has left the singer so shaken that, 15 years on, she jumps “if someone knocks unexpectedly”.
“It happened six months after I finished Strictly Come Dancing in 2009,” the singer told The Times.
“I was entering our Primrose Hill flat, my hands full of shopping bags, when a guy wearing a balaclava charged towards me, knocking me backwards. We tumbled down the stairs.
“With his full weight on top of me, he put a hand round my throat and threatened to break my neck if I screamed. He then stripped me of my jewellery, including my diamond necklace and Rolex.
Stevens said that “two more men rushed in and took my computer and more jewellery, before fleeing the scene”.
She continued: “Thankfully, they were caught. They turned out to be a gang that had targeted several well-known people in St John’s Wood, Hampstead and Primrose Hill.
“Afterwards, I suffered terrible PTSD. Even now, I jump if someone knocks unexpectedly.”
Stevens is currently house hunting in north London with her partner, professional skater Brendyn Hatfield, whom she was paired with on ITV series Dancing on Ice, and her two children: Amelie, 13, and Minnie, 10,
This development comes after splitting with her ex, Buying London estate agent Alex Bourne, after 12 years of marriage.
Recalling living with Bourne after splitting up, Stevens said: “It was challenging. When we decided to separate, Alex and I were under the same roof, trying to get the house sold. It would have been easier if there had been no love between us, but that wasn’t the case.”
Stevens was previously engaged to TV star Jeremy Edwards from 2002 to 2003 and, last year, shut down the actor’s claims she cheated on him while they were together.
The actor told The Sun: “Since this story came up, it’s brought all this up again. And I’ve thought about it more, I’ve thought about our relationship, and I think she did have a fling.”
In a statement shared with The Mirror, via her rep, Stevens said: “This is a completely false story, the interview is absolute lies, and this did absolutely not happen.”
