The Scandalous Affair That Ended Nicole Appleton's First Marriage
Nicole Appleton has enjoyed several high-profile romances, but none so illustrious as her first marriage. That marriage was blown to pieces after her husband, Liam Gallagher, embarked on a scandalous affair, leading to a bitter divorce in 2014.
After the All Saints star and Oasis frontman joined forces, they were Cool Britannia's power couple. Per Metro, it was love at first sight when Liam locked eyes with Nicole in 2000, and they quickly became a fixture on the post-Brit pop scene. A year and a half later, the Canadian singer gave birth to Gene Gallagher. According to Hello!, as Nicole lay in hospital recovering from the delivery, Liam hit the town with her sister, Natalie Appleton. He celebrated the arrival of his son by smashing a camera into a photographer's face.
Perhaps the incident should have proved a warning to Nicole of the rocky road to follow. However, she tied the knot with Liam in a secret Valentine's Day 2008 registry office wedding. Nicole, credited with "taming" her bad boy beau, was head over heels with joy. "Marriage is important to me, and I love the idea of being married," she gushed (via The Telegraph).
Everything was a champagne supernova ... until it wasn't. Nicole's life came crashing down around her after Liam told her that he'd been having an affair and fathered a secret love child. Keeping it classy, he informed his partner of 13 years via phone — while she was on vacay, no less.
Deceit and denial
Nicole Appleton was sunning herself on the beach when Liam Gallagher, called to tell her about his affair. Adding to the indignity, Gallagher had also fathered a love child, and the news was set to break any day. The couple's £11 million divorce settlement revealed the details surrounding their split.
"It was only when publicity was about to occur in April 2013 when Mr. Gallagher told his wife," Judge Martin O'Dwyer shared (via The Mirror). "The circumstances were extremely unfortunate. The wife was away on holiday, and she was informed by telephone by the husband." He added that "Ms. Appleton was greatly distressed" that her marriage ended following Liam's "prolonged deceit."
Gallagher had initially refused to acknowledge his secret daughter's existence. It was his disavowal that ultimately proved his downfall. Page Six reported that the mother of Gallagher's child, American music journalist Liza Ghorbani, filed a $3 million lawsuit against him demanding financial support for their seven-month-old daughter. The Sun initially broke the story that a British rock star was desperate to keep a love child in the United States a secret, but they were prevented from naming Gallagher due to the UK's strict libel laws.
Second shot
Nicole Appleton was left reeling when Liam Gallagher called to tell her he had fathered a secret love child. As if that wasn't bad enough, just hours before he informed her of the news, Nicole had been sitting with her sister, fellow girl group member Natalie Appleton, and their hairdresser, trying to guess who The Sun's mystery cheating Brit pop rocker was. The siblings' mom, Mary Appleton, told the Sunday People (via The Mirror) that upon learning it was actually her husband, Nicole fell to her knees, crying, "It's Liam! It's Liam!"
Liam was partying like a rockstar in Ibiza at the time of his call. Meanwhile, Nicole was enjoying a family vacay with their son, Gene Gallagher, Liam's son from his first marriage, Lennon Gallagher, and her three sisters. "Nikki's devastated — we all are," Mary said. "She said to me, 'Mum, he hasn't even called to ask how the boys are.'"
Nicole posted a reflective message on X (formerly known as Twitter) at the end of a terrible 2013. She shared one of the lessons she had learned: "No matter how good you treat people, there will always be people that are blind, take advantage of it, & regret it when it's gone." Not surprisingly, after the epic cheating scandal, it took time for the singer to get back in the dating saddle. However, Nicole married her second husband, Stephen Haines, in 2021. The couple shares a daughter, Skipper Hudson Haines.