Inside Robbie Williams and Nicole Appleton’s whirlwind relationship and split

IN Better man Singer Robbie Williams opens up about his life and rise to fame, and he’s also candid about his personal life, such as his struggles with drug addiction and his past relationships.

One such relationship is the romance the singer shared with Nicole Appleton, a member of All Saints, whom he first met in 1997 and enjoyed an on-and-off relationship with. Their whirlwind romance is dramatized in the film with certain aspects of it changed for the film, which will no doubt draw attention back to their shared past.

For those who want to learn more about Williams and Appleton’s relationship, here’s what you need to know.

How did Robbie Williams and Nicole Appleton meet?

In Better Man, Williams and Appleton are depicted as meeting at a boat party on New Year’s Eve, which is not actually how they first encountered each other. The pair met in 1997 when they both appeared on Top of the Pops, the singer’s self-titled 2023 Netflix documentary shows him cheekily switching the labels of his dressing room with All Saints in a bid to meet them.

Read more:

Inside Robbie Williams’ complicated relationship with his father Pete Conway

Robbie Williams admits new film Better Man ‘throws people under the bus’

Inside Take That is the early years before the Robbie Williams film Better Man

The film depicts their first meeting as a fantastic ballroom dance, charting the ups and downs of their relationship in a tableau of scenes where the couple-to-be dance together to the tune of Williams’ song She’s the One.

A whirlwind romance and a difficult breakup

The film shows the couple struggling with the pressures of fame, and as Williams’ drug addiction worsens, so does his relationship with Appleton. The couple broke up shortly after the All Saints singer was pressured to have an abortion by her record label to continue pursuing her career.

Appleton reflected on the moment in her 2002 memoir Together, where she wrote: “Robbie Williams put his hand on my stomach and told me, ‘This baby is saving my life. After having my miscarriage, I was in shock. I couldn’t believe , what I had finished.”

The couple got engaged seven months into their relationship but broke up just a month later, they got back together shortly after but split for the last time in January 1999.

Williams talked about including his and Appleton’s experience after her miscarriage in the film, recounting Hello! magazine: “The hardest thing is watching Nicole and what we went through because she was instructed to get rid of our baby. And that bit in the movie, not just that bit but absolutely everyone else, I can say, ‘Hey , you did a wrong thing and that’s why you’re going under the bus.

“But with Nic, I did the wrong thing. It wasn’t so little, the abortion wasn’t – I didn’t make her do it – but I was a terrible girlfriend, like really terrible, and I was at the height of my addiction and alcoholism And it breaks my heart every time I see it because she is a complete angel and there is still shame attached to who I was back then.

Make amends

After their split, Appleton went on to marry Liam Gallagher, with whom she shares son Gene, the couple divorced in 2014, and she has since married Stephen Haines, with whom she shares daughter Skipper.

Williams and Appleton are now on friendly terms, and Better Man director Michael Gracey revealed how important it was for the singer to have Appleton’s approval of the way she is portrayed in the film. He told The mirror: “I think Robbie has a lot of love for Nicole and I think he has a lot of regret for how he behaved at that time.

“He was very protective of her. He didn’t want to tell any part of that story unless Nicole was on board. She was asked about the film. I showed her the very first draft of the script. She was involved all the way through. She saw many versions.

“I don’t think it makes excuses… maybe makes amends. That’s a beautiful way to look at it. I think we’ve all behaved badly in the past. I think we’ve all said things , we regret. I think the difference is that Rob is willing to put it on the big screen, which I think is incredibly brave.”

Better Man opens in UK cinemas on Boxing Day.