Alex Bourne, the ex-husband of former S Club 7 star Rachel Stevens, has announced the birth of his first child with his new wife, art dealer Lily Amber Bourne. The news arrives just weeks after Stevens publicly admitted she is still processing the emotional fallout from the end of their 13-year marriage.
A New Chapter for Alex and Lily Bourne
The 47-year-old property mogul shared the joyful news on Instagram this Sunday, posting a joint announcement with his 31-year-old wife. The couple revealed their newborn son, named Sonny Alec Bourne, with a sweet photograph of the baby dressed in a white onesie.
In the caption, they expressed their overwhelming happiness, writing: ‘One whole week of loving you, our sweet boy. You have completely changed our lives and we love you more than life itself. I can’t believe you’re ours. 21.11.25 xo.’ Friends and family swiftly flooded the post with congratulatory messages, welcoming the new arrival.
Alex Bourne and Lily, who runs contemporary gallery projects, met in early 2024. Their romance moved quickly, with an engagement last summer during a walk on Hampstead Heath and a rustic wedding at Lime Kiln Lodges in East Sussex in February. Alex’s two daughters from his marriage to Rachel Stevens—Amelie, 15, and Minnie, 11—served as bridesmaids at the ceremony, which the couple described as being on ‘Cloud Nine’.
Rachel Stevens' Candid Admission of Grief
The birth of Sonny coincides with a period of open reflection for Rachel Stevens on the collapse of her marriage. Last month, the singer and television personality confessed she never fully allowed herself to mourn the end of her relationship with her childhood sweetheart.
‘Some days you feel empowered… and then other days you feel like you just wanna cry under the duvet and hide,’ she revealed. Stevens explained that she had ‘put a lid’ on her emotions, jumping into another long-term relationship soon after the split. ‘I don’t know if I actually fully grieved the loss of my marriage,’ she admitted, describing the process as ‘terrifying’ and saying her nervous system was constantly in ‘fight or flight’ mode.
Stevens, who recently also split from her Dancing On Ice partner Brendyn Hatfield, has emphasised that co-parenting with Alex remains her absolute priority. She told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, ‘Their dad is a great dad and we’ve always been so aligned with keeping them really safe in it.’
Navigating a Blended Family with Sensitivity
Both Alex Bourne and Rachel Stevens have consistently spoken about their commitment to an amicable co-parenting relationship for the sake of their daughters. Alex has described their family dynamic as ‘supportive’ and ‘aligned’.
He has also been vocal about the careful handling of new partners, stating last year that ‘everything has been handled with a lot of sensitivity and respect.’ He confirmed that his daughters ‘absolutely adore’ Lily and stressed that avoiding animosity was crucial for the children’s happiness.
Reflecting on finding love again after the ‘upheaval’ of divorce, Alex has called Lily ‘a beautiful person inside and out’ and expressed feeling ‘very grateful’ for his second chance. For her part, Rachel Stevens insists she remains a ‘hopeless romantic’, still dreaming of ‘movie love’, even as she learns to be gentler with herself in the wake of heartbreak and public scrutiny.
