Claire & Lee Stepping Out…

Magazine / Newspaper Source: The Sun

Timeframe: January 1999

Secret Dates for Claire & Lee…

STEPs stars Lee Latchford-Evans and Claire Richards are secretly dating each other, we can reveal. Even the bands management were kept in the dark about the romance.

A group insider told us: “Lee and Claire have been friends for a long time but it only developed into something more a month ago. They have strong feelings for each other but were afraid to say anything. They didn’t even tell the other three members

of the band. Claire and Lee have tried to be very discreet but they realised they wouldn’t be able to keep their relationship a secret forever.”

Romance blossomed for Lee, 24, and 21 year old Claire when STEPS were shooting the video for their hit single Tragedy / Heartbeat, which was knocked off the number one spot yesterday by Fatboy Slim’s Praise You. In the promo the groups girl’s – Claire, Lisa Scott-Lee and Faye Tozer – are all filmed going through tragic marriage ceremonies in a spoof of Four Weddings and a Funeral. The girls get rescued from their husbands from hell by Lee and other STEPS boy H, real name Ian Watkins.

But Claire and Lee’s screen romance turned into a real-life love affair when they started spending their days off together. A spokesman for the group said: “We knew nothing about their relationship until Bizarre told us. When I confronted them they were like a couple of embarrassed giggling teenagers.

Read more classic STEPS interviews in our Interviews & Reports section here.