Mark Owen: 'I cheated with ten girls'

 

Thursday, March 11 2010, 08:45 GMT

 

By Mayer Nissim, Entertainment Reporter

Mark Owen: 'I cheated with ten girls'

 

Rex Features

 

Mark Owen has revealed that he cheated on his long-term girlfriend Emma Ferguson with around ten women before their wedding last November.

 

The Take That star told The Sun that he had a five-year on-and-off relationship with 24-year-old accounts manager Neva Hanley, in addition to a string of drunken one night stands with other girls.

 

Owen said: "I have been an idiot, a d**khead, a kn*bhead. All of the above and more. It's about me, my mistakes, nobody else is to blame. I don't know how many girls there were in all. Maybe ten.

 

"I have been living with the guilt. It has always been there - you carry it around with you. It held me back in my relationship with Emma. I wouldn't have done any of this if I had my time again.

 

"Emma is really strong and I know she will do what is right for her and the kids. I support that and I really appreciate that. She loved me - she still does love me - and I have let her down. That's the truth of it."

 

He claimed that he had not slept with any other girls since his wedding, adding: "I'm proud of that. I know it sounds really stupid but on our wedding day, for me the ring is really important and I want to be true to my word.

 

"This had to happen for me to move on. It would have always been there. I could never have been fully open with Emma, with myself, with anybody. Now I can. I can start again, that's how I feel. I wish I had realised about my drinking earlier.

 

"I really wanted for me and Emma to move on when we got married and not make the same mistakes. In situations like this people surprise you. Friendships and the words people send. I feel supported - an idiot like me."

Edited July 17, 201014 yr by Norma_Snockers

He's the member of the group you'd least expect it from :o What a twat!

If this is true, I am shocked and extremely disappointed.

 

 

Well, apparently it is true?! It is in all the papers - quoting Mark. Seems to me like someone had some evidence against him and he had to "come clean". What a shame. I really thought he was the nicest one of all. I feel so bad for his family.

Edited March 11, 201015 yr by Renee

He claimed that he had not slept with any other girls since his wedding, adding: "I'm proud of that. I know it sounds really stupid but on our wedding day, for me the ring is really important and I want to be true to my word.

That really is ridiculous...it's like he feels he's done something really good by not sleeping with anyone else after the wedding - surely that should be a given?!

 

That really is ridiculous...it's like he feels he's done something really good by not sleeping with anyone else after the wedding - surely that should be a given?!

 

I agree ... like even though Emma had given birth to his two children ... it was ok for him to cheat as it was 'before the wedding'. If I'm honest I'm not really surprised. I think the only two who actually have it in them to be faithful once they've found 'the one' are Gary and Robbie.

 

Bloody hell! What's come over me ... speaking good of Robbie twice in one week! I feel guilty now about giving him a 10 in the most annoying voice rate!

 

Norma

He's the member of the group you'd least expect it from :o What a twat!

 

Actually no! I think he was always the one most likely to! I think this is why Jason and Howard won't marry as they don't want to commit themselves. Lets face it ... unless its going to be monogamous (don't know how the feck you spell it) ... and for life ... what's the point in wedlock?

 

Norma

Edited March 11, 201015 yr by Norma_Snockers

I was shocked to see he'd cheated, and then I saw on the frontpage of a paper it said TEN people. He's the only one I'd expect NOT to cheat tbh, and perhaps Gary. Tut tut.

LOL... it was for long time common knowledge. What wonders myself is that Howard got only some small pics and Mark get so much attention.

 

Should they have been in a rock band, nobody whould give two cents about it. Only because they are in a pop band, people still believe they are saints :lol: or that they have to .

 

Do I am shocked? not quite...for someone who heard his solo music as much as i do, which is very sincere, was everything there. Someone who doesn't have real bad times, cannot write such true songs. People always look at Gary that he had bad times, well Mark has it as much as him. At least Gary was appreciated in time as a songwriter, Mark was not appreciated at all.

 

I think this is the problem of Mark and his family. It is not at all my problem. I want his and TT's music, i buy it if i like it, i want from them good shows, live singing and good music. That is all.

 

If i would choose to like only artist who didn't cheat, well, i would have to give up more than half of my favorites... :lol:

Edited March 11, 201015 yr by IrisAlbastru

I think it's funny that every time this thread comes to the top ... the header [from View All Artists menu] reads Mark's having an affair with .... name of user! Hence ... after my post it will be

 

Mark Owen: "I cheated with .... Norma Snockers"

 

I bet no blokes post in this thread anymore! :lol:

 

Norma

LOOOOOOLLLLL

 

Well, perhaps the only positive thing from all of this it will be that a lot of people will stop wondering if Mark is gay :lol:

When did you first hear about it Iris? It was certainly news to me. I feel sorry for his wife that it was splashed across the papers. It must be hard enough for her to deal with without everyone knowing about it. I did suspect that he was a little bit fond of the drink after reading fan stories from the tours. I was wondering why the forum on TTO was down last night. Now I know why!!

Months or a year at least. That with drinking was not a news, but very few people have read his solo interviews. He said back in time that when he was down he used to drink (he didn't said he was alkoholiker or so strong drinker, only that he used to drink at bad times)... Not everybody smiling is really happy. Also that he is such a nice person doesn't mean he is perfect.

 

I think someone blackmailed him. No way that he comes with such a news other way. Apart from Gary the other three let very little from themselves and were very private.

 

Like i said, it is not my problem to judge what he makes in his private times. I know a lot of TT fans will be dissapointed, as they think the TT members are saints. It is a big problem that the fans are majority female, as for them the perfect image is very important. I hope they will put the album on hold now and release it next year, when the press will have enough of the story. But i don't think Polydor is that smart. They will just put Mark somewhere in the background, bring Robbie and for them the problem will be solved...

Months or a year at least. That with drinking was not a news, but very few people have read his solo interviews. He said back in time that when he was down he used to drink (he didn't said he was alkoholiker or so strong drinker, only that he used to drink at bad times)... Not everybody smiling is really happy. Also that he is such a nice person doesn't mean he is perfect.

 

I think someone blackmailed him. No way that he comes with such a news other way. Apart from Gary the other three let very little from themselves and were very private.

 

Like i said, it is not my problem to judge what he makes in his private times. I know a lot of TT fans will be dissapointed, as they think the TT members are saints. It is a big problem that the fans are majority female, as for them the perfect image is very important. I hope they will put the album on hold now and release it next year, when the press will have enough of the story. But i don't think Polydor is that smart. They will just put Mark somewhere in the background, bring Robbie and for them the problem will be solved...

 

They had better not!! I supposed if he was going off with fans on tour it must have been very obvious to some people. Certain things that I have read now make sense. I'm just surprised that it didn't come out sooner with so many people knowing! Even if the album comes out this year it will be the very end of the year I'm sure.

I don't think six months will be enough. Damn, i want to read in promotion time articles about the music they made and not about this story, over and over again. By The Circus they got only asked about Robbie. Now it will be that ...

 

It might be that they will get far less fans in UK and more buyers and publicity (which was tending to 0 for The Circus) in Germany. Germany is not such impressed by good guy image like UK. That is why there is a very different perception of Robbie in Germany and TT are considered boring...

 

 

Oh it'll all be forgotten soon. Someone else will be on the front page of the red-tops in a day or so and the only person who'll be affected by it will be Emma.

 

Is this the reason that the TT site is down ... that's a bit pathetic if I'm being honest. And ... I really don't think this news will have much effect on Take That's following. Iris ... I seriously doubt that Polydor will see this as an opportunity to 'push Mark to the back' and bring Robbie forward ... for a start ... I don't think Rob'd be interested ... and his current label wouldn't allow it anyway. If they can't handle stuff like this (and the site being off-line is an indicator) then perhaps Take That should call it a day right now and go their separate ways again ... from what I've seen .... they all seem pretty tired of the business now anyway.

 

Norma

Id say he was definitly rumbled and given a time frame to break the story himself, and im sure the papers will have all the one night standers selling their stories now about what they did and didnt do.

 

Im disapointed with him to be honest and what is worse is that he continued his affir while emma was pregnant twice and when she gave birth, surely that is what will hurt emma the most, he said he slept with the one he was having an affair with within a week of emma giving birth, it really shows hwo much he valued her being the mother of his first child.

 

I know he isnt the first and wont be the last to do this but why did he marry emma, he is with her 5 and a half years and has been having an ongoing affair for 4 years, i just dont get why he did that.

 

Im not overly surprised by him cheating im ore surprised by the 4 year affair, i also find it hard to believe that neither gary, jason or howard knew about it considering she was so many of the shows, what i think is they did know or some of them did and didnt want to get involved which is understandable to.

 

Im sure we will soon find out about the whole blac mailing plot as i dont think mark woke up one day and deciided to reveal all this himself without been pressurised into it.

Take That's Mark Owen and wife arrive home for crunch talks after he confesses to TEN affairs By Sara Nathan

Last updated at 1:14 AM on 12th March 2010

Comments (40) Add to My Stories

Strain: Mark Owen's wife Emma wasn't wearing her wedding ring as the couple returned to their south London home yesterday

Father-of-two blames alcohol for his love-cheat behaviour

Star gave one lover £9,000 after calling off affair

 

The marriage of Take That singer Mark Owen was on the rocks last night after he admitted cheating on his wife ten times.

Owen, 38, was forced to break the news to wife Emma on Tuesday after one of the girls threatened to tell her about their five-year entanglement.

 

Yesterday he confessed in public to all ten flings, saying: 'I have really let her [Emma] down. Friends, everybody, I feel like I have let everyone down.'

 

Friends of the couple say it is 'too early' to tell if the marriage can be saved.

 

The pair have two children - Elwood, three, and Willow Rose, one - but only wed last October after a courtship of five years.

 

One of Owen's affairs, with accounts manager Neva Hanley, 24, carried on for most of that time, with the lovers sharing a final night together just weeks before his wedding.

Another of their encounters took place a week after the birth of his daughter.

 

Other infidelities were drunken one night stands while he was on tour with his band.

 

The star, who admitted his drinking had affected his marriage, tried desperately to apologise to Emma when he came clean on Tuesday, fearing Miss Hanley was about to sell her story.

 

Showing the strain: A tense Mark Owen, who yesterday admitted to a string of affairs, arrived at his south London home yesterday afternoon

 

 

Crisis talks: The couple, who have two children together, quickly headed inside the marital home

 

Friends alleged she had threatened to come to his family home or call his wife.

 

The singer said yesterday: 'I have been an idiot. It's about me, my mistakes. Nobody else is to blame. I have been living with the guilt.

 

'It has always been there, you carry it around with you.

 

'It held me back in my relationship with Emma. I wouldn't have done any of this if I had my time again.

 

Wedding day: The singer married Emma in a Scottish castle in October

'I am halfway through my life now and this, in a way, is a lesson. You've got to learn and that's what I am going to do.'

 

The shattered-looking star and his wife arrived back at their home in Wandsworth, South London, yesterday after spending the night apart.

A friend said: 'Mark has just dropped an almighty bomb on Emma. She always suspected he was cheating, but he always denied it.

 

'She is extremely strong-willed and it is too early to say whether she will stay with Mark.

 

'She wants to do what is right for the children. She doesn't know what to do yet.

 

'Mark confessed all to Emma on Tuesday - he had an inkling what Neva was going to do - and they did not spend Wednesday day or night together. Emma is devastated, while Mark feels terrible, but this is something he has been dragging around for years.

 

'Neva basically stayed as a friend, any time he had a problem, he would be in touch with her, but the relationship went too far.'

 

Miss Hanley, who was brought up in a middle-class family in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, changed her name from Victoria to Neva when she moved to London to go to dance school.

 

She appeared in several dance videos and adverts, including one for Cornetto ice cream.

 

On her Twitter page, Miss Hanley calls herself a 'slightly lost dancer, advert-sellout, fish keeper, explicit cupcake lover and gin junkie'. Yesterday, as the story of her affair came out, she boasted on her page: 'Going to stamp on someone'sparade.'

 

Owen said he first met Miss Hanley five years ago when she was 19, at a platform at Preston railway station.

They became friends and three weeks later he flew her out to Los Angeles where they had sex in Holdeathslywood's Best Western hotel. Three months later, Owen invited her to his Lake District home where they spent a night smoking cannabis, drinking vodka and having sex.

 

Love cheat: Groom Mark (right) with his Take That band members Howard Donald and Gary Barlow

 

The pair later cooled their relationship, but kept in touch and spent the night together just one week after Owen's daughter was born. Their final night was last September at the Gore Hotel in Kensington, West London.

 

Miss Hanley said: 'We had sex five times that night. That's when I started to feel really guilty.

'The lie has gone on for far too long. I can't do this to Mark's family-any more.'

However, a source close to Owen said: 'If Neva is so worried about Mark's family then why did she go to the press?'

 

Owen also admitted paying Miss Hanley £12,000 over the past year, but said it was not hush money, merely to help her pay for her flat and expenses.

 

'Indeed, Miss Hanley had twittered in November: 'It has just hit me...I'm debt free! I owe no one anything! Yahooo.'

 

Owen also claimed he had not cheated on his wife since their wedding day, adding: 'I'm proud of that. For me, the ring is really important and I want to be true to my word.'

 

He added that since his admission of guilt he felt 'I can start again', saying: 'Emma is a strong girl. She has to do what is right for her and the kids. And I am here if she wants me.'

 

On tour: Mark (second from right) admitted he had a string of alcohol-fuelled one-night stands while on the road with his band

 

 

 

Miss Hanley is now believed to be dating a man called Matt, writing on her Twitter page: 'How long dating is it before you have to start calling someone your boyfriend/girlfriend ?'

Owen admitted his drinking had put a strain on his relationship with Emma and said he was 'not very nice to live with'.

'I denied to her I was having an affair when things were going on.

'We met and within a year and a half she was pregnant with our first beautiful boy, Elwood. And when you have kids, things change.

'I feel like I am getting to know Em more and more every day. I love her to death but our relationship hasn't always been great, because of me.'

Mark enjoyed massive adoration as a member of boy band Take That but when the group split in 1996, he struggled to find a foothold in the music industry.

After two top five singles was dropped by his record label BMG and in 2002, clearly desperate to raise his profile he took part in Celebrity Big Brother, and emerged as the winner.

Serial cheat: Mark says he is 'deeply sorry' for the pain he has caused Emma

'Life was hard, I guess. I let Emma down. I was selfish and stubborn.'

The group reformed with bandmates Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Jason Orange in 2005, who have since enjoyed a re-run of their huge success and the attentions of their die-hard fans who think nothing of following them from show to show.

 

He said the others were unaware of his affair with Hanley, but he did not say if they knew of his many liaisons on tour.

Owen added: 'I want to do the right thing now for the kids and Emma.

 

'It's the best thing in the world having kids. I feel blessed and I am really sorry that I have done this to them and to Emma.

'She has done a lot of good for me, Emma has. She is absolutely without doubt the only person I want to be with for the rest of my life.'

In a statement released yesterday, Owen said: 'I'm so deeply sorry for the pain my actions have caused my family and friends.

'I'd like to ask the media to please respect the privacy of my wife and children during this difficult time.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe the media will forget for a moment, but that would be the thema at every interview they will done in promotion, i can bet about it. And the fans won't forget either.

 

Well, he must pay for what he has done, i won't judge Emma for neither decision she may take. Sometimes i think that being creative for a male person goes hand in hand with being a fully idiot :rolleyes: (and i won't bet on Robbie or Gary for being other way, if i were you Norma :teresa: ).

 

I don't think that TT are tired for being a pop-group. I think they are tired for receiving so much attention, for keeping their mouth shout, playing safe and the role of perfect man. That was the first time round, that is also now. They all should learn for it (give me a break, how the other didn't know about it? They learn very quicky when a person is very often following them). At Howard was only the ring missing, but is quite the same story. At least Jason has no kids. I won't comment on Gary as at him the rumours are really the fewest and Robbie i was no interested to read anything about him, but knowing how "sweet" and "on a plate" the pop-star" life is, i won't put my money on a pop-star ever for being an angel.

Well we hear more this morning! It is being 'revealed' that Mark's drink problem was something that beginning perhaps over 15 years ago! So we all know who's fault it is now don't we?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Gary's of course ... everytime a member of Take That goes off the rails ... I bet Gary's at the foot of the problem! He must be the 'third sugabage' of the That!

Im sure the whole mark revelaation will bring more stories out if there out there, for exaample if either gary or howard have cheated im sure it will all leak out, im not sure if howard would be a cheater or not but my gut feeling is that gary isnt, i dont know why as i dont personnely know him but he seems like a true family man who puts his family first, but you just never know.