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Billie Piper believes Johnny Lloyd romance defies logic due to her ‘abandonment issues’

Billie Piper and Johnny Lloyd
Tribes vibes: Billie Piper is dating rocker Johnny Lloyd (Picture: Getty)

Billie Piper confessed her romance with rocker Johnny Lloyd defies logic because she suffers from ‘abandonment issues’ and doesn’t believe in date nights.

‘I really don’t know what the key is,’ said the I Hate Suzie star, who has a two-year-old daughter, Tallulah, with the Tribes frontman.

‘I think on some level I’m always going to be interested in love in a way that throws logic to the floor. Part of me doesn’t ever just want to see it as this rational thing where I’m making sure I have date night on a Wednesday; although I think there are merits in doing that.

‘But the thought immediately makes me feel a bit heavy-hearted and bored. I don’t know if I can ever really be fully practical and healthy around love.’

After a teen marriage to Chris Evans and having two boys, Winston, 12, and eight-year-old Eugene with second hubby Laurence Fox, the Because We Want To singer conceded: ‘I think a lot of my issues romantically have come from being on my own a lot when I was very young.

‘So it’s sort of an extreme desire to feel loved and safe. I guess on some level it’s like abandonment issues — even though I wasn’t particularly abandoned; I lead myself largely — but I think that has affected relationships.’

After a ‘wild’ twenties following her divorce from Evans, 38-year-old Billie — who will be seen next in the film Rare Beasts, her directorial debut — has given up on seeking happiness. 

Billie Piper for Red magazine
In the Piperline: Billie makes her directorial debut with Rare Beasts (Picture: Chloe Mallett, Red)
Billie Piper for Red magazine
(Picture: Chloe Mallett, Red)

‘I think dedicating your life to pursuing happiness is not that helpful and you’re likely to be disappointed a lot,’ she told Red.

‘(Happiness) is fleeting but, when it’s happening, I like to be fully conscious of it and sit with it for as long as I can.’ 

See the April issue of Red, on sale today.

More Guilty Pleasures…

Kingsley and company look forward to one night in April

One Night In Miami actor Kingsley Ben-Adir is in the running for this year’s Bafta EE Rising Star award.

He is joined by Morfydd Clark, Bukky Bakray, Sope Dirisu and Conrad Khan on the shortlist unveiled by former nominee George Mackay yesterday.

Kingsley, 35, who played Malcolm X in One Night In Miami, said: ‘To be in this category, and to be recognised in this way, means a lot.’

Morfydd, 31, who starred in 2019 psychological horror Saint Maud, said: ‘I’m honoured to be recognised amongst this group of talented, British actors.’ 

Bukky was 16, with no acting experience, when she was cast in the 2019 coming-of-age drama Rocks. 

Kingsley Ben-Adir on red carpet
X marks the spot: Kingsley and George (below) yesterday (Picture: Rex)
George MacKay on red carpet
(Picture: Rex)

‘I honestly feel so blessed to be recognised so early on in my career,’ she said.

Sope, 30, best known for Gangs Of London, said the award’s history was ‘full of such exceptional and inspirational talents’ and he was grateful to be considered.

Conrad, 21, acclaimed for his role in 2019 film County Lines, added: ‘I am so excited and proud to be in such great company.’ The Baftas take place on April 11.

Solange reveals her secret ‘fight for life’

Beyonce’s younger sister Solange Knowles says speaking to God saved her when she was ‘fighting for her life’ in secret.

Solange, 34, opened up on her ordeal as she marked the two-year anniversary of her album When I Get Home by sharing clips of herself on a beach. She wrote on Instagram: ‘When I first started creating When I Get Home, I was quite literally fighting for my life… in and out of hospitals.’

Solange Knowles
Solange Knowles says speaking to God saved her (Picture: @saintrecords, Instagram)

She said she asked God for a sign that ‘if he let me make it out alive, I would step into the light whatever that meant’. She continued: ‘He begin speaking to me. Half the time, I didn’t know where it was coming from. I only knew I had to open the door and honor it.’

D’you feel lucky punks? It’s the Sex Pistols

A first look at The Sex Pistols on stage in Danny Boyle’s upcoming TV drama dropped yesterday, as the latest additions to the cast were announced.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster, fresh from The Queen’s Gambit, will play the Pistols’ manager Malcolm McLaren, while St Trinian’s star Talulah Riley is Vivienne Westwood.

Also joining the cast are Christian Lees as original Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, and model Iris Law — Jude’s daughter — as Soo Catwoman, an influential figure in the London punk scene. The six-part series, called Pistol, is based on guitarist Steve Jones’s memoir Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol, and due to air on FX on Hulu next year.

Bang-ed to rights… so now Reet’s relieved to be in Oz

Rita Ora has spoken of her relief at getting away from Blighty after apologising for a string of lockdown breaches.

The Bang singer is currently in Australia, serving as a judge on The Voice. Rita served two weeks in luxury hotel quarantine Down Under, shortly after UK police called her ‘selfish’ for throwing a 30th birthday party in lockdown.

Rita Ora on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Rita Ora: Bang-ed to rights (Picture: NBC)

‘It’s a blessing to be out here and just be working with everything going on, so I feel very lucky,’ Reet told US chat show host Jimmy Fallon in a virtual interview.

■ Sophie Ellis-Bextor feels motherhood murdered her Radio 1 career. The singer, 41, now a mum of five, grumbled at being boycotted, saying: ‘On Radio 1, they probably don’t play many women in their 20s who’ve got a couple of kids.’

■ Russell Brand tells us where we are going wrong in his Audible series, Revelation. Russell, 45, says: ‘The only way we will save ourselves and save the world is by attuning to the deep and ever present beauty in ourselves.’

■ Britney’s dad Jamie Spears claims he’d be up for giving up legal control of the 39-year-old’s life. Jamie’s lawyer said he would ‘love nothing more than to see Britney not need a conservatorship’ but added ‘it really depends on Britney’.

■ Ioan Gruffudd’s wife Alice Evans claims she only found out he had filed for divorce through social media. Ioan, 47, pulled the plug after his wife’s public ‘gaslighting’ claims. Alice, 49, posted of the divorce: ‘Oh. Ok. Thanks for letting me know.’

■ Irina Shayk swears she will never lift the lid on her relationship with ex Bradley Cooper. The 35-year-old Russian model, who shares three-year-old daughter Lea with Bradley, 46, said: ‘It’s just a piece of my inner self that I don’t want to give away.’

■ Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor claims he’d never heard of The Crown before he landed the role of Prince Charles. ‘It’s kind of embarrassing,’ admitted Josh, 30. ‘Then I watched the show and realised it’s incredible.’

■ Gary Oldman has detailed the horrific side-effects of his life as an alcoholic. Sober for 24 years, the 62-year-old spilled: ‘I used to sweat vodka. My tongue would be black in the morning. I blamed it on the shampoo.’

■ It’s A Sin Olly Alexander is champing at the bit to play Doctor Who after the show’s creator Russell T Davies said he would be great in the Tardis. Olly, 30, told Heart FM: ‘I think it would be amazing. I think it’s an amazing show and an amazing role.’

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