Who Is Nicole Appleton? All About the All Saints Singer Once Linked to Justin Timberlake

Nicole Appleton dated Robbie Williams and later Oasis’ Liam Gallagher while she was in the girl group All Saints

Nicole Appleton started her music career in the late 1990s as part of the girl group All Saints.

The singer was born in Canada but moved to England when she was young, where her work took off. She and her older sister Natalie Appleton joined All Saints in 1996 as the third and fourth members, and the pop group performed together until their split in 2001.

Nicole then went on to form a duo with Natalie known simply as Appleton. The two performed together for three years before All Saints reunited.

At that time, Nicole’s personal life was going through major changes as she finalized her divorce from Liam Gallagher, the frontman of Oasis, in 2014. She later married her husband Stephen Haines in October 2021 after the pair secretly welcomed their daughter together in March 2020. Nicole also has a son, Gene Gallagher, with Liam.

Nicole also made headlines in 2000 when she was photographed on a night out with Justin Timberlake, who was dating fellow pop star Britney Spears at the time. Years later, Spears wrote in her memoir, The Woman In Me, that although she suspected the *NSYNC singer was cheating on her, she decided not to say anything since their romance was new. Though Spears didn't mention Nicole by name, she wrote that Timberlake was caught by photographers "with one of the girls from All Saints" — which fans speculated referred to Nicole.

So who is Nicole Appleton? Here’s everything to know about the singer from her personal life to professional career.

She is from Canada

Nicole was born in Ontario, Canada, on Dec. 7, 1974. She and her three older sisters — Lori, Lee and Natalie — moved around when they were young after their parents split and their father moved to London. The artist told The Times in 2018 that she and Natalie would fly back and forth on their own when she was just 5 years old.

Nicole credited her sister with being her rock throughout her life, especially as they began working together when they joined All Saints.

“Nat has always been my bookend. Growing up, we were more like twins, just inseparable,” she said. “She was the boss, though, which was fine with me, even if that meant her taking the best Barbie or cutting my fringe.”

She was in the British girl group All Saints

Eventually, Nicole and Natalie moved with their mother to London where they enrolled in the Sylvia Young Theatre School, where Nicole honed her love of dance and her sister sharpened her singing skills, as she told The Times.

Nicole was eventually recruited for All Saints, joining members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis in 1996. Natalie was added quickly after when they realized “doing four-part harmonies would make us even stronger.”

All Saints released their debut self-titled album in 1997, which went on to become the UK's third-best-selling album from a girl group to date. They released their second album, Saints & Sinners, in 2000, which went double platinum in the UK.

Despite their success, the band ultimately broke up the following year in 2001, later explaining that it was because they all “hated” one another by that point.

“We just weren’t really getting on anymore and we kind of hated each other so we just thought ‘f--- it, let’s stop,’ ” Blatt said on the British talk show Alan Carr: Chatty Man in 2016. “We didn’t do it for the money. We didn’t carry on for the money like some bands even though they hated each other.”

All Saints went on to reunite twice, first in 2006 when they released their third studio album, Studio 1, and again in 2014 when they performed as special guests during the Backstreet Boys UK tour. They then released their fifth and sixth studio albums, titled Red Flag and Testament, in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

The band's second reunion was a pleasant turn of events for Nicole, as she told The Times.

“Getting the band back together [in 2014] was the best feeling,” she said. “There were nerves going on stage again, but we’re so flattered people still support us. Our lives have changed so much since we started that you find old songs having new meanings.”

She had high-profile relationships

When she first rose to fame, Nicole started a relationship with Robbie Williams, and the two were even engaged before their split in January 1999. Nicole later opened up about how her record label pressured her to get an abortion after they found out she was pregnant with Williams’ baby.

“I couldn’t believe what I had done,” she wrote in her autobiography in 2002. “Afterwards, everyone pretended it hadn’t happened.”

Nicole later started dating Liam Gallagher, the frontman of Oasis, in 2000 and the two tied the knot in 2008. However, they split in 2013 when Nicole accused Liam of cheating on her, revealing he was expecting a child with his mistress.

A judge determined that the All Saints singer had “sufficiently proved” her allegations, noting that she “is entitled to a decree of divorce” as there was proof of adultery, PEOPLE reported in 2014.

She was linked to Justin Timberlake in 2000

In addition to her high-profile romances with Williams and Gallagher, Nicole was also briefly linked to Timberlake in 2000 after they were photographed together during a night out in London.

A newspaper clipping from the time showed a photo of Timberlake and Nicole unsuccessfully ducking from paparazzi cameras in a car that took them from London’s Mayfair Club to the St. Martins Lane hotel, where Timberlake was reportedly staying.

At the time, Timberlake had been dating Spears for over a year. The "Piece of Me" singer later addressed the incident in the memoir.

“There were a couple of times during our relationship when I knew Justin had cheated on me. Especially because I was so infatuated and so in love, I let it go, even though the tabloids seemed determined to rub my face in it,” Spears wrote. “When NSYNC went to London in 2000, photographers caught him with one of the girls from All Saints in a car. But I never said anything. At the time we’d only been together for a year.”

She got married in 2021

Following her divorce from Gallagher, Nicole found love again with Facebook director Stephen Haines and the two married on Sept. 25, 2021. Nicole often posts pictures of the couple on Instagram to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.

“Happy anniversary to my wonderful husband @hainsey7 I love you soo much!!” she wrote on Instagram on their second anniversary in September 2023. “You are the best!! 🌎❤️🥂xxx.”

The pair share a daughter, Skipper, who was born in 2020. Nicole later opened up about her love life in an interview with the Daily Mail in October 2023.

“Married life is wonderful second time round,” she said.

She is a mother of two

Nicole and Gallagher welcomed their son Gene on July 2, 2001. He was 12 years old when the couple split.

These days, Gene is following in his parents' musical footsteps, having played the drums since he was a teen. He appeared on the cover of Behind the Blinds magazine in October 2023, where he opened up about performing alongside his famous dad at Manchester's Etihad Stadium.

Nineteen years after Gene's birth, Nicole secretly welcomed another child on March 7, 2020. “After hiding my pregnancy for the last 9 months...which was SOOOOO difficult & keeping her a secret from all my friends...I can finally announce our incredible news!!” she wrote in her Instagram reveal. “Our little girl ‘Skipper Hudson Haines’ has arrived Stephen & Gene are besotted!!! I’m SOOO HAPPY!! ❤️❤️.”

Nicole later told the Daily Mail that her pregnancy was “easy" and "smooth.”

“My baby at 45 was all natural,” she told the outlet. “Pregnancy was just as easy second time round, and everything went smooth. I’m loving it. She’s the best second child I could ever have in my whole entire life.”

She hosts her own radio show

After working with Magic Radio throughout 2023, Nicole announced that she would be joining the station with her own shows on Saturdays and Sundays as of October 2023.

“I’m so happy to announce some really exciting news!” she wrote in her Instagram announcement. “From October 14th, I will be hosting my own shows on Magic Radio on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. I love being part of the Magic family and can’t wait to spend my weekend afternoons with you all.”

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