Hannah Spearritt details her struggles with an autoimmune disease which left her unable to cook or get on a train as she discusses 'traumatic' year
Hannah Spearritt has detailed her struggles with an autoimmune disease which left her unable to cook for herself or get on a train.
The S Club star, 42, said she has had a 'traumatic' year amid her health struggles and the tragic death of her S Club bandmate and ex-boyfriend Paul Cattermole in April.
Hannah then left S Club's tour and said 'everything' changed for her after Paul's death, admitting she had been having 'crippling panic attacks' before quitting.
Now, Hannah has spoken about her struggles with an autoimmune condition, which caused symptoms including chronic fatigue, brain fog and vertigo.
She said she first had similar symptoms in 2013 after having breast implants, and she and her husband Adam Thomas believe the condition was triggered by two miscarriages in 2022 and stress.
Hannah Spearritt (pictured in January) has detailed her struggles with an autoimmune disease which left her unable to cook for herself or get on a train
Hannah (pictured in 2018) said she has had a 'traumatic year' and spoke about her struggles with an autoimmune condition, which has caused chronic fatigue, brain fog and vertigo
Hannah told Hello! Magazine: 'I don't think I realised how much I'd deteriorated because it happened so gradually, I had no energy and couldn't even get on a train or cook dinner.
'That affected my mental health, too, because I've always been a physical and sporty person, it's only when you get better and can do things you love again that you realise how bad things were.'
Hannah said she has only been able to join the 2024 series of Dancing On Ice thanks to an expert in regenerative medicine, who she said used a serum derived from her own blood to help stabilise her condition.
The star - who shares daughters Taya, five, and Tora, three, with Adam - admitted this year has been 'traumatic' due to her health woes and the death of her bandmate and ex-boyfriend Paul.
'It's been a tough and challenging year, and things happened that were quite traumatic,' Hannah said.
Hannah has recently released a memoir Facing the Music and admitted it wasn't easy to look back at her life whilst grieving Paul's death, but said she fondly remembers their early S Club days.
Hannah previously spoke about leaving S Club's reunion tour after Paul's death and told how it gave her time to reflect on whether it was the right thing to do.
In October, she told The Sun: 'Will I ever perform with them again? I just don't know, I'm glad that the tour is still going ahead and the songs will live on, but now I'm looking forward, not backwards.'
She also shared that she had been having 'crippling panic attacks' before quitting the tour as she spoke about how her health had been suffering at the time.
'I hadn't been in the best of health — I've got a compromised immune system and stress makes it worse,' she went on.
'My body just couldn't cope with everything that was happening. I wasn't myself, I was getting these crippling panic attacks, was suffering from really bad vertigo and was tired all the time.'
Hannah left S Club's tour earlier this year following the death of her bandmate and ex Paul Cattermole (Hannah and Paul pictured with Rachel Stevens, Jo O'Meara, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh and Tina Barrett in February)
Hannah previously said her health was affecting her children - Tea, four, and Tora, two, who she shares with Adam Thomas - because she had no energy to do anything with them
Hannah and Paul (pictured in 2004) dated from 2001 before splitting in 2006, with the pair rekindling their romance in 2015 before finally going their separate ways just months later
Hannah said her health was affecting her children - Tea, four, and Tora, two, who she shares with Adam Thomas - because she had no energy to do anything with them.
She explained that after Paul's death, she realised she couldn't rejoin S Club for the tour, admitting 'it just didn't feel right'.
Hannah claimed she hasn't been in touch with her former bandmates since she left the band, admitting she is sad not to be but insisted she wishes them 'all the best'.
Hannah and Paul dated from 2001 before splitting in 2006, with the pair rekindling their romance in 2015 before finally going their separate ways just months later.
Looking towards the future, Hannah has joined the line-up of Dancing On Ice and has recently released her book Facing the Music.
