Rachel Stevens didn't "fully grieve" the end of her marriage to Alex Bourne

Speaking to HELLO!'s Second Act podcast, Rachel explained: "From some days to the next, some days you feel empowered, you feel like: 'Yes, I've got this' and then other days you feel like you just wanna cry under the duvet and hide ...

"I went from being married and then went into another long relationship, and I don't know if I actually fully grieved the loss of my marriage. I constantly felt like my nervous system was on fight or flight."

She added of her feelings: "For a long time ... I put the smile on and turned up and became the person that I thought I should be and got very lost along the way ...

"And now after real sort of experience of divorce, being a parent, with heart break ... it's only really suddenly I have to build those foundations ... I [put a lid on my feelings] and just sort of numbed myself because the feelings were just too much ...

"When I feel anything that's sort of very emotional I withdraw, I isolate - so I'm really learning to .. reach out and be gentle and nurturing with myself ... I don't have to be anything other than what I am."

Rachel is still single but she hasn't given up on love.

She said: "I've always been a relationship girl. I'm such a romantic and I love love. I want that movie love. [I'm] a hopeless romantic ..."

The singer went on to admit she's looking forward to turning 50 in several years time, adding: "You should celebrate every year. I like the power of being wise and emotionally more mature.

"[Going forward] I want to trust and believe in myself. But that's work in progress; we've never arrived. You can just do your best every day."