Emma Bunton and her husband Jade Jones have been together for 24 years, but the Spice Girls star revealed they broke up at the beginning of their relationship – and she said their split "worked a treat".
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The couple were aged 21 and 19 when they met in 1998, but they split the following year. They reconciled in 2000, but split again in 2002, before reuniting again in 2004 for good. Emma said she knew immediately that Jade was her soulmate and she only had positive things to say about how their relationship played out.
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Speaking to Holly Willoughby on her podcast, By The Light of the Moon, Emma described her first impressions of her now-husband.
"It was very immediate, as soon as I looked at him I thought, 'This is so special,'" she said, adding: "He felt exactly the same and we had very magical moments very early on and I think we were both taken back about that.
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The couple got married in 2021
"We would talk about children, it was very intense very quickly. I think both of us knew we wanted to be together. We're soulmates."
Emma added that they both had busy schedules at such a young age, and their break allowed them "time to grow as people."
Emma and Jade met aged 21 and 19 respectively
When Holly asked the singer: "Do you think having that break helped? Did it serve its purpose?", she replied: "Yeah, definitely. Firstly, I was on tour, he was on tour, so I think we would have both taken that time apart anyway. But I think it gave us time to grow as people and when we came back together it was just amazing. We felt something very quickly."
Holly said: "I guess you separate to know that you really want to be back together," and Emma agreed, saying: "It worked a treat."
They got engaged in 2011
Despite their long-term relationship, the pair only got engaged in 2011 and Emma previously said they didn't need marriage to "justify their relationship".
The couple – who share two children, Beau, 14, and Tate, ten – tied the knot in 2021 in a secret wedding ceremony. Emma looked beautiful in a white mini Miu Miu dress which featured long, mesh sleeves and a cape.
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